National football team to play try-out matches
National football team to play try-out matches
JAKARTA (JP): The national soccer team will gear up for its
gold medal winning campaign in the 18th Southeast Asian (SEA)
Games in Thailand in December with 11 try-out matches, starting
next month.
Assistant coach Andi Teguh said in the team's base camp in
Gresik, East Java on Wednesday that the outings will be divided
in three steps. Andi, however, failed to elaborate on the exact
dates for the warm-up matches.
The national players, who kicked off their centralized
training stint last month under Italian coach Romano Matte, will
play their first matches against four East Javanese teams.
Local teams
They will then travel the archipelago, where they are slated
to take on local teams in Manado, Medan, Banjarmasin and Bandung.
The final three matches will pit the national team against three
foreign opponents.
"We will play an away match against Guangzhou and two home
matches," Andi told Antara. The All-Indonesia Football
Association has yet to decide on the foreign sparring partner
teams during the two final matches.
"We are going to find the best format of our team during the
outings. Romano tends to follow the current trend in the soccer
world that makes up a team of four forwards, four midfielders and
two defenders," said Andi.
Both Matte and Andi are now grooming 24 players from the
national league and the junior team. Putut Wijanarko of Assyabaab
and Sasi Kirono of the league's runner-up Petrokimia Putra won a
late call-up.
The two coaches will shortlist 22 players before moving the
base camp to Lembang, a small town west of Bandung, next month.
After completing the outings, Matte will name 18 players eligible
for the SEA Games.
Indonesia just finished fourth behind host Singapore in the
1993 SEA Games. Indonesia, which last won the soccer gold medal
in 1991, is now seeking its third victory despite the strong
challenge of host Thailand's dream team.
Thailand has provided incentives worth six million bahts
(around US$320,000) for its national soccer team if it manages to
retain its gold medal. (amd)