National soccer coach Nandar rebuts charges

National soccer coach Nandar rebuts charges

JAKARTA (JP): National team coach Nandar Iskandar refuted the
accusations that caused his expulsion from the Indonesia squad
during the Tiger Cup round-robin matches in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

"I was earlier reported to have felt sick so I had to take a
rest during the remaining matches. That's not true. I could still
fly back home from Thailand and I'm in good condition now.

"If the team official said I was not assisting the team's
performance, that is baseless. I can clarify more on this, but I
will report first to Pak Agum (Gumelar, chairman of the Soccer
Association of Indonesia) before I make a public announcement,"
said Nandar after his arrival in Jakarta on Tuesday morning.

He said if the players had a problem with his coaching method,
they should have told him earlier because he had been coaching
the team for more than a year.

Nandar was discharged by the PSSI official in charge of
athletes development, Nurdin Halid, who is also the team's chef
de mission, and team manager Muhammad Zein. He was blamed for
Indonesia's 1-4 defeat to Thailand on Friday.

Many have questioned the decision as Nandar's dismissal must
be conducted by PSSI chairman Agum Gumelar. PSSI signed a
contract with Nandar last September to coach the team for the
Asian Cup prequalifying round, the Independence Cup, the Asian
Cup final and the Tiger Cup. The contract ends in December.

Nandar said he was really upset by the incident.

"I didn't make the decision to take a rest. It was not by my
own will. Certainly, I can't accept it," the soft-spoken coach
told a media gathering at the PSSI office.

"This incident hurts my pride. As a national team coach, I
don't have much money, but I have dignity."

"When I'm coaching the national team, I put honesty above all
things. I share this integrity with the players, hoping that they
will be honest in making a winning team."

Nandar said he was no longer responsible for the team's
performance. The team is now in Bangkok for its semifinal match
against Vietnam on Thursday.

"If there is no reason for my presence on the team, it's
better to cut my contract period short," he said.

He did not deny the possibility that he had been made a
scapegoat in an alleged plot to change the national team coach
with Dutchman Henk Wullems. "I can say the possibility is fifty-
fifty."

Nandar was not clear if he disapproved of Nurdin's attitude as
the contingent's leader. He said that he knew Nurdin very well
because they had been working together since the Asian Cup
prequalifying tournament.

"Pak Nurdin is very enthusiastic. In those crucial moments,
his attitude made it a different atmosphere. During the first
half of a match, Pak Nurdin kept asking me for my opinion and
what I would do with the team the next minute when I should have
been sitting quietly and concentrating on the strategy."

Nandar still believes that Indonesia's defeat to Thailand was
a matter of technical failure.

"I don't believe that the players wanted to disgrace me in the
match," he said. (ivy)