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

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)