More competitions must be created for young talents to shape up

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Watching the national soccer squad being thrashed 0-6 by their Thai counterparts at the 22nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam earlier this month, Indonesians could easily have forgotten that they claim a proud place in soccer history.

In 1938, Indonesia, which competed as the Dutch East Indies, was the first Asian team to play in the World Cup.

The country then became one of the strongest soccer countries in the region in the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1986, the Indonesian team finished fourth at the Asian Games, a feat their successors can only dream about.

However, the 1991 SEA Games was the last international event from which the national team returned victorious with its last trophy to date.

With a huge, population of soccer-crazy fans, Indonesia is seen as having the potential to mirror Brazil, which has worked its way up to become the most successful soccer country in the world.

"Indonesia is really the Brazil of Asia," declared Peter Velappan, the secretary-general of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in a June 1998 interview with Asiaweek magazine.

"They play with an intelligence and flair unique in this part of the world. The talent in Indonesia is better than Korea's or Japan's, but they have neither the organization nor the will to clean up corruption," he said.

Five years later, circumstances have not changed much, with corruption and administrative incompetence still the major obstacles to the country's success in the world of sports.

The barrier to soccer development in Indonesia appears to lie in the final stage of preparation, during which players should hone their skills through regular and competitive tournaments.

In the early stage of this year's season, Indonesia might have been proud about the performance of its young squad, as shown by an under-12 team in the 4th Danone Nations Cup.

The team, led by Indonesia's past star Ronny Pattinasarany, proved it was on a par with the likes of Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, whose senior teams are looked upon with undisputed world fame.

Ronny said his proteges' performance showed that Indonesians had a natural flare for soccer.

"However, the problem remains as to how these budding talents can be cultivated and polished," he said.

Tournaments do not cater enough to developing these nascent soccer talents into strong players.

The availability of regulated domestic competitions are imperative to shaping the players' mentalities and attitudes, which are, in turn, necessary in order to produce world-class soccer players.

It is common knowledge that Indonesia has abundant soccer talents, but deprived of sufficient competition experience, they are left rough and neglected.

Clubs tend to buy thoroughbred players, be it domestic or foreign, then go scouting for new talent, nurturing young players through internal competitions.

Such a tendency has brought about the unavailability of players ready for use, thus affecting the lineup for the national team.

Ronny said that if only the soccer clubs were willing to allocate just five percent of their budget -- most of which is used to buy professional recruits -- toward holding tournaments for all age groups, they would certainly encourage growth and a higher standard of performance.

"It takes time, but it would be cheaper and it would certainly pay off for the clubs and eventually for the national squad. It all depends on the will of club owners and patrons," he said.

However, most club patrons tend to run after an instantaneous one-season victory rather than seek to lay a foundation for far- reaching goal.

The responsibility for encouraging clubs to hold more competitions is in the hands of the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI), with its almost all-new board members under the chairmanship of Nurdin Halid.

While PSSI initiative has yet to be seen, people might already be skeptical given the composition of the new board.

Nurdin, 45, a legislator of the Golkar faction, took over the PSSI's helm under the shadow of a ban for his alleged involvement in a Rp 260 billion (US$30.23 million) graft case.

He then announced the recruitment of a number of high-profile political figures onto the PSSI's organizational board.

Among the new executives are Golkar presidential candidate Gen. (ret) Wiranto as Advisory Council chairman, Agung Laksono of Golkar, Setya Novanto of Golkar, People's Consultative Assembly deputy spokesman Oesman Sapta, Roy BB Janis of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Taufiqqurahman Saleh of the National Awakening Party (PKB) and Tjahjo Kumolo of PDI Perjuangan.

Given the current landscape of Indonesian soccer, Nurdin will face tough challenges during his chairmanship.

The domestic league is plagued with problems both on and off the pitch while on the international scene, the Indonesian under- 23 team was foiled from advancing to the next stage of the 2004 Olympics qualifications by Lebanon.

The senior team is to take part in the final round of the 2004 Asia Cup, but its qualification run -- during which it was twice humiliated by Saudi Arabia in their Group C matches -- has raised questions over the team's health.

Indonesia's embarrassing rout by Thailand at the SEA Games, which came only weeks after Nurdin's election, was like a slap in the face of the fledgling PSSI chairman.

However, Nurdin made a new move in mid-December, approaching former Thailand coach Peter Withe from England for a four-year stint to train the Indonesian under-20 squad. Many are still doubtful about the Withe contract, saying the effort would be wasted if it is not followed up by regulated competitions for all age groups.

Well, we can only wait and see -- and wish the Brazilians of Asia luck.