Language constraints may hamper Kolev
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The arrival of Ivan Venko Kolev in Jakarta, where he is going to coach the national soccer team, has raised concern that the language barrier might hamper him in his job.
At a press conference held last week, an interpreter had to translate journalists' questions for the 46-year-old Bulgarian.
And when a reporter asked him a question in English, he asked his translator to tell the journalists he would prefer questions be asked in Indonesian.
"This is obviously a hindrance that is very likely to slow things down. Instructions to the players will not be effectively conveyed," Eddi Elison, a soccer columnist, told The Jakarta Post here on Thursday.
Eddi recalled that Bernhard Schumm, a former coach of the U-20 national team, did not speak Indonesian either, but he could give his instructions in English and have them passed on to the players.
"In the case of Kolev, the players will not know what he has said until the instructions have gone through an interpreter and then an assistant," he said.
Kolev, according to Eddi, is the only foreign coach the national squad has had who cannot communicate in either Indonesian or English.
"In the past, they could communicate in both languages or just in English," he said.
"Anatoly Polosin was able to speak Indonesian after only three months into his tenure," Eddi said, referring to the Russian coach who guided the Indonesian soccer team to victory in the Manila Southeast Asian Games a decade ago.
Kolev spent a year in Jakarta in 1999, which some may see as a sign that he lacks the motivation to learn Indonesian, something the Bulgarian denied.
"That's not true. I am trying to learn and I have to. It's just that I am not yet capable of speaking it," Kolev said in response to the criticism.
Despite the language difficulties, the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) defended its hiring of Kolev, with PSSI secretary-general Tri Goestoro saying the language barrier was not a major problem.
"He works with an interpreter beside him along with reliable assistant coaches," he said.
Kolev led Persija to the semifinals of the national soccer league in 1999. The Jakarta-based club is the reigning champion after winning the league in 2001.
Two years after leading Persija, Kolev quit his job as the Bulgarian U-21 team to sign a one-year contract with PSSI. His immediate goal is to lead the national team to victory at the Tiger Cup in September.
The biennial soccer tournament featuring teams from Southeast Asian nations will be cohosted by Indonesia and Singapore.
The region includes Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.