Kurniawan joins national soccer team

Kurniawan joins national soccer team

JAKARTA (JP): International footballer Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto
joined the national soccer team yesterday for the 18th Southeast
Asian Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand, amid concern about his
familiarity with the squad.

The 19-year-old striker completed coach Romano Matte's list of
19 players with just three days left for the team to prepare for
the competition.

Soccer kicks off this Sunday, with Indonesia playing host
Thailand in the newly built Chiang Mai stadium. Thailand is
defending the title it took in Singapore two years ago.

Mounting skepticism over Kurniawan's late inclusion was
shrugged off by assistant coach Andi Teguh. "We don't need a
tryout to give Kurniawan a chance to get used to playing with his
teammates. We can test him through a control game," Andi said.

The coach said his biggest worry was that Kurniawan would
still be jet-lagged after the flight from Switzerland. "Three
players suffered jet-lag when they returned from Sweden," Andi
said.

Kurniawan, who extended his stay with Swiss premiership side
FC Lucerne last year, will make his third international
appearance for Indonesia at the SEA Games after the Asian junior
championships last year and the Olympic qualifying round several
months ago.

The All-Indonesia Football Association axed defender Yadi
Mulyadi who preferred playing for Persib Bandung in the Asia club
championship that is now underway in Bandung, West Java.

Andi said another player will be dropped after the SEA Games
soccer technical meeting in Chiang Mai.

Indonesia is grouped with Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and
Cambodia in the preliminary round-robin matches. The other group
comprises Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines. They
will play in Lampoon, about 30 kilometers south of Chiang Mai.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the cross-
over semifinals played in Chiang Mai on Dec. 12. The final will
be held on Dec. 16, the eve of the closing ceremony. (amd)