Nothing friendly about RI's 4-0 loss to Malaysia

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian U-23 soccer team was routed 0-4 by Malaysia in a friendly here on Wednesday, with the finger of blame being pointed at officials from national soccer body PSSI.

"In technical terms, we learned nothing from the game. We had already predicted that we were going to end up with such a result," assistant coach Bambang Nurdiansyah told The Jakarta Post here on Friday.

"What is left to learn is that the (PSSI) officials must introspect ... that kind of result is unavoidable if we arrange a game for a team in such physically poor condition," he said.

The Indonesian team, which will travel to Lebanon for the second-leg match for qualification for the Olympics, only had one day's rest after regular matches with their respective clubs.

The team, coached by Mundari Karya, was completely dominated, with Bambang attributing it to his players' poor physical condition.

But Bambang fudged when asked if the game should have been scrapped.

"It was a dilemma. The players suffered lethargy while a try- out was important to find out their preparedness for the Lebanon trip," he said.

About the Malaysian team, which was made up mostly of its ex- Tiger Cup (ASEAN Soccer Club Championship) members, Bambang said: "I did not see any proficiency in the team, except for that they had good teamwork."

Now with their clubs, the Indonesian players are expected to assemble on May 23 for a brief workout before setting out for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on May 27.

The team will have a week-long training camp in Saudi Arabia, during which it is scheduled to play the junior team of Al Ahli club.

The team will face Lebanon on June 7 with the Indonesians holding a narrow advantage after beating the Lebanese 1-0 in Jakarta early this month.

Bambang warned the team against playing defensively in Lebanon, saying it should strive to attack to have any chance of reaching the final stage of the qualifications.