Nandar replaces Schumm as national team coach
JAKARTA (JP): The All-Indonesian Soccer Federation (PSSI), bowing to pressure from local fans, announced on Friday that Nandar Iskandar would replace German Bernard Schumm as the national team coach.
PSSI chairman Agum Gumelar said Nandar's first assignment would be to prepare the team for the prequalifying round of the Asia Cup, set to kick off on Oct. 23 in Hong Kong.
"The officials' meeting decided to replace Schumm. We appreciated his effort. If we use clear thinking, I believe Schumm is not as bad as the condemnation he has received from the soccer community. He has good training methods, relationships with the players and he is astute in observing the rivals' strengths.
"But he doesn't have the Midas touch," said Agum in a news conference at the National Resilience Institute, which he heads.
Indonesian soccer fans were dismayed and angered by the poor performance of the team in the 20th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Brunei Darussalam early this month.
The team took home the bronze medal after falling to unrated Vietnam in the semifinals. Defending champion Thailand retained the gold medal by beating Vietnam in the final.
Agum said Schumm would remain in his post as PSSI technical director until the federation held its four-day congress starting on Sept. 19.
Nandar is the former coach of Bandung-based Persib soccer club and assistant coach to Rusdy Bahalwan in the Tiger Cup in Hanoi last year. He will be assisted by Dananjaya and Mohammad Zen will remain the team manager.
Agum said he would consider extending Nandar's tenure as coach if he led the team to qualify for the Asia Cup top 12.
"PSSI's athletes development officials should start arranging training programs and scheduling tryouts prior to the Asia Cup pre-qualifying round. We plan to start the training program on Sept. 1."
Agum will retain the entire SEA Games team lineup and will also invite national top striker Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto and Tugiyo of PSIS Semarang to join the training.
Kurniawan was withdrawn from the team for the Games after testing positive for amphetamines in a drug test one month before the event.
Agum said PSSI would not suspend Kurniawan.
"I made the decision in my capacity as PSSI chairman. I believe Kurniawan will change his attitude," he said.
As for Tugiyo, Agum said he had observed his performance in the fifth Indonesian Soccer League (Ligina) in April, where he kicked the sole goal in the final between PSIS and Persebaya Surabaya. PSIS won the final after a 12-year title drought.
"He's very dangerous in the penalty box. He proved it when playing against Persebaya," he said.
Agum also said that in the sixth Ligina, to kick off in November, PSSI will stop supporting clubs financially and encourage them to seek their own sponsorships.
"When we support them, some people accused PSSI of monopolizing the soccer club. After this decision, I hope in the future there will be no complaints that PSSI neglects the club," he said.
Agum also said he was ready to be elected as PSSI chairman in the congress if it was the public's wish. However, he indignantly told journalists they could start looking for other candidates for the position if they wished. (ivy)