Indonesian soccer league teams pledge fair play

Indonesian soccer league teams pledge fair play

JAKARTA (JP): Teams featured in the sixth Indonesian
professional soccer league championship semifinals have vowed to
fight for glory and play fair.

Home favorite Persija Jakarta, PSM Makassar, Persikota
Tangerang and Pupuk Kaltim (PKT) of Bontang, East Kalimantan
reached an unofficial agreement on Wednesday that no clashes
between players will occur during the semifinals at Senayan
stadium on Thursday.

"In my mind, soccer is aimed at entertaining spectators. I
have instructed all players to delight their supporters. Soccer
matches should look like a party for everybody," said Persija's
Bulgarian coach Ivan Kolev through his interpreter.

In the quarterfinals opener last week, Persija's Brazilian
midfielder Luciano Leandro attacked Arema's Chilean striker
Francisco Javier Rodriguez Rubio. Leandro received marching
orders for his fault.

Persikota's coach Sutan Harhara said: "I tell my players not
to use their hands during a match. They play soccer with their
feet."

PSM coach Syamsuddin Umar and PKT assistant coach Soengkowo
Soediharto shared the same opinion. "We should maintain
sportsmanship. Spectators are getting critical of what they see
on the field. We agree to take them to limits with a good show,"
Syamsuddin said.

PSM plays Persija in the first match, dubbed the ideal
semifinal, at 5 p.m., while surprising Persikota will take on PKT
in the second match. RCTI will air the first semifinal match live
and the second match will be (not live) at 0:30 a.m. on Friday.

All the coaches said that they would do better to avoid the
'sudden death' or the extra time in the semifinals.

"The game lasts 90 minutes. Persikota will try its best; Insya
Allah (God willing) we can win. I hope there will be no extra
time," Sutan told a media briefing here on Wednesday.

But the coaches refused to name the penalty shooters should a
deciding shoot-out be unavoidable.

The coaches also declined to reveal their strategies.

"We will not apply the same strategy in each match. It's not
proper to discuss our team line-up or strategy here," Kolev said.

Kolev also said that Persija, despite the absence of Leandro,
remains the hot favorite to win its first title since the
inception of the professional league in 1995.

"A strong team does not rely solely on one or two players," he
said.

Best player

Meanwhile, Ronny Pattinasarany, who chairs the special
committee to select the league's best player, announced on
Wednesday eight candidates for the title.

The best player will receive Rp 25 million in prize money,
which is provided by the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI)
and the league's main sponsor Bank Mandiri.

Those chosen in the initial list are Bima Sakti and Kurniawan
Dwi Yulianto (PSM), Marthen Tao and Fachry Husaini (PKT), I
Komang Mariawan and Benben Berlian (Persikota) and Bambang
Pamungkas and Imran Nahumarury (Persija).

"Our assessment is based on the players' performances during
the quarterfinals. We also ignored their behavior outside the
soccer pitch," Ronny said.

He was responding to reporters' question on the council's
nomination of Kurniawan, who just escaped charges of taking
illegal drugs during the league's regular season.

"If Kurniawan is found guilty of consuming shabu-shabu
(crystal methamphetamine), he must have been banned from
competing in the match. But the fact, he is still playing. And he
meets all the criteria. I know there will be a conflict, but
there is also a freedom to choose," Rony, a former national team
captain, said.

The criteria include physical and technical qualities,
attacking and defending knowledge and mental qualities. (ivy)