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)