Nandar's post as Indonesia's head coach still unclear

JAKARTA (JP): With only one month left to go to the 2000 Asian Cup in Lebanon, the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) remained tight-lipped on the fate of national coach Nandar Iskandar.

PSSI secretary general, Tri Goestoro, said on Monday he was still unsure as to whether the association would take the opportunity of replacing Nandar with Dutchman Henk Wullems.

He also brushed aside media reports saying that Nandar would ask to resign from his post as head coach should PSSI insist on including Wullems in the national squad.

"There is no question of resignation. Nandar is still the national team's head coach. We are still unsure if we will discuss this matter with other PSSI officials as it is really difficult to organize an internal plenary meeting right now," he said.

Nandar, who has been preparing the team for the championships which run from Oct. 12 through Oct. 29, was not available for comment as he failed to show up for the first training session on Monday at the Senayan soccer ground. The training session was led by assistant coach Dananjaya.

Four players from the Makassar-based PSM club -- Bima Sakti, Aji Santoso, Hendro Kartiko and Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto -- also skipped the training session due to their club's upcoming fixture against Song Lam Nghe An in the first round of the Asian Club Championships in Hanoi.

Tri confirmed that he had met Nandar personally at the Kebayoran Inn hotel in South Jakarta where the national team are staying during the training program for the Asian Cup.

"I asked him about the players' condition as they have just returned from a one-week break after competing in the Independence Cup. I also asked him about the number of players who are joining the team and about who is still playing overseas. It's a normal part of my job to ask these questions when they are about to begin the centralized training program," he said.

Ironically, the news on Nandar's replacement emerged after Indonesia managed to win the Independence Cup two weeks ago, beating Iraq 3-0 in the final.

The national team director Muhammad Zein said after attending the final on Sept. 3 that Wullems was expected to join the national team as a technical advisor and would start on Monday.

Zein indicated that it was Nurdin Halid, the PSSI official in charge of athletes development, who recommended Wullems to chairman Agum Gumelar.

Wullems' latest success was to lead PSM, owned by Halid, to win the Bank Mandiri national soccer league in July. The Dutchman also helped the national team win the 1997 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games silver here.

Assistant coach Rudy Keltjes said he was against the idea of replacing Nandar.

"I have no problem if Wullems only acts as a technical advisor but he shouldn't take over training from Nandar. There's only one month left for our preparations, so it's no use changing our training program," he said after the training session.

Rudy also called on PSSI to appreciate a local coach instead of hiring an expatriate. "Who said that Nandar is not a successful coach? We have to show gratitude to our own people." (ivy)