Indonesia drops tryout matches in South Korea
Indonesia drops tryout matches in South Korea
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian soccer team, preparing for the 18th Southeast Asian Games, canceled its tryout matches in South Korea yesterday.
Secretary-General of the national team body, Endro Sumarjo, told reporters after a meeting yesterday with SEA Games project officer, Arie Sudewo, that the South Korean Football Association had failed to pick teams and arrange times for the friendly matches.
"They are not ready to fulfill our request right now," said Endro, quoting the All-Indonesia Football Association's secretary-general Soeparjo Pontjowinoto, who received a call from his South Korean counterpart earlier yesterday.
Endro and assistant coach Andi M. Teguh met with Arie to explain the cancellation and the team's other training plans prior to the SEA Games soccer competition, which starts five days before the opening ceremony on Dec. 9.
Arie called yesterday's meeting after the national soccer body revealed the South Korean's plan on Monday. It would have been the Indonesian team's second tryout after the first in China on Wednesday.
The national team lost 2-3 to the Chinese Olympic team in Beijing last week, but Andi, an assistant to Italian coach Romano Matte, said his men have improved.
"We should have played more matches against such strong teams like China and South Korea to pump up our confidence," a disappointed Andi said yesterday.
He said the cancellation could possibly cost Indonesia the chance of winning the gold in Chiang Mai. "We're shooting for the glory but we lack real tests," he said.
The 20-man soccer team had also arranged some friendly matches against the New Zealand national team, Halmstad and Helsinberg of Sweden and the Fijian national team, but failed.
Andi made sure that his squad would not play a single warm-up match against a foreign team. Instead, they will take on PSIS Semarang this weekend and a selection team from the Indonesian professional league next week. The selection team will include foreign booters.
The national SEA Games booters will meet host Thailand in the Group A opening match on Dec. 4.
Basketball
Meanwhile, the Indonesian men's basketball team planned two more warm-up matches against Pelita Jaya of Jakarta and basketball league runner-up Hadtex of Bandung, West Java, before the Games.
Coach Bambang Hermansyah said the next games would test his men's speed and defense. "They are just 15 percent shy of their peak form," Bambang said.
Bambang's 12 boys returned from their Australian outing last week. They won two friendlies but lost three times by an average of eight points.
Bambang said his squad managed to improve their team work during the five matches abroad. "I remain optimistic about taking the silver," he said. The Indonesian men finished third in the 1993 SEA Games in Singapore.
Defending champion the Philippines, parading its professional players, is favored to retain its crown in Chiang Mai. Thailand lost to the Filipinos in the 1993 final, but it won some consolation by grabbing the women's gold medal.
The only bad news Bambang dispatched was a foot injury afflicting playmaker Oky Tamtelahitu. The coach, however, said it will take Pelita Jaya's Oky only a few days to recover. (amd)