'Malaysia, RI tough rival in SEA Games'

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian national team coach Benny Dolo said that Malaysia will pose a special threat to Indonesia, besides arch-rival Thailand and dark horse Vietnam, in the soccer competition of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur in September.

This was stated by Benny to journalists on Wednesday during a one-day trip he made with his assistant Mundari Karya to scout the opposition at the Merdeka Cup tournament in Kuala Lumpur, where the Malaysian under-23 team beat Thailand 2-1 for a semifinals' ticket, along with Uzbekistan, Bosnia and Bahrain.

He praised the Malaysian players' discipline and consistency during the match but he believed that his players would be able to teach their rivals some lessons during the biennial event.

"The Malaysian players are very consistent although they played under pressure for 90 minutes against Thailand. But our players are even more talented than their opposite numbers. Our players can improvise, they are skillful and they can create their own system during the game.

"The Malaysians have developed good discipline in their defense. They can stick to their strategy of playing with four defenders, and apparently this kind of system is nothing new to them. The Malaysians are also very fit and this helps them in playing like that," he said after a training session at the soccer pitch in the Bung Karno Sports Complex.

Benny said the Indonesians could still produce goals despite the Malaysian emphasis on defensive.

"I noticed that the Thai strikers had to duel with four Malaysian defenders every time they wanted to get into the Malaysian box. Malaysia has a highly disciplined defense," he said.

Indonesia is in group B together with host Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei Darussalam. The soccer qualifying round will start on Sept. 1 and Indonesia will face the Philippines in its opening match on Sept. 2.

Mundari added that the Malaysian players had learned how to play the 4-4-2 formation from their English coach Allan Harris, whose contract was extended for one year by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). Berita Harian reported that FAM deputy chairman Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah was impressed with Harris's performance and was aiming for his team to reach the Games final.

"Although they earlier tied 1-1 with Thailand, they managed to keep on playing within the formation. The Malaysians were also courageous in attacking. They marked the Thai strikers closely to prevent them from passing the ball. I noticed that for most of the 90 minutes the ball never left the Thai half.

"The Malaysians are good because they have trained for some time, but we're still in with a chance of winning."

During Wednesday's training, the Indonesian players were practicing one-on-one tackling to prefer for Malaysia's defensive game.

"Our players must be able to win one-on-one tackles during the match. We have trained them to play that way. Gradually, we will face two players off against two other players in a tackle. That's one way to fight against Malaysia," Mundari said. (ivy)