Pele gives advice for Indonesian soccer's future
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
World soccer legend Pele suggests that Indonesia should organize more tournaments and carry out friendly games against strong teams if the country wants to build a strong national team.
In a tele-conference organized by MasterCard, the former Brazilian World Cup star said on Wednesday that there were many factors weighing on a country's soccer team.
"But first of all, you need to have a nice, strong league -- a well-organized league," he said from Berlin where he was accompanied by world soccer body FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, European body UEFA President Lennart Johansson, Germany's past star Franz Beckenbauer and Peter Hoch, a representative from MasterCard.
The tele-conference was provided to the media in 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
Indonesia was represented by leading dailies Kompas and The Jakarta Post. Participants in those countries were given an opportunity in turn to ask their questions to the panelists in Berlin.
Born under the name of Edson Arantes do Nascimento in Tres Coracoes, Brazil, on Oct. 23, 1940, Pele burst onto the international soccer scene as a 17-year-old at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
He scored a total of six goals, including two in a 5-2 triumph over Sweden to give Brazil its first-ever World Cup. He finished his career with 1,282 goals in 1,365 games and led Brazil to World Cup victories in 1962 and 1972.
His presentation at Wednesday's tele-conference was in conjunction with the agreed extension of MasterCard as the official sponsor of the 2006 World Cup in Germany and 2004 European Championship in Portugal.
Pele alluded to the need for players to play overseas through tournaments and friendlies to make a strong national team.
"I think players from Indonesia, senior players, should also participate in tournaments in South America, Europe or Asia.
"The players should be given experience to make them strong and (bring them) up to a professional level," he said.
"Advice to the (Indonesian soccer) federation: have some games, friendly matches; form a strong league, then you will have a strong national team."
With reference to the World Cup, he said: "They (Indonesian players) have the chance, because every one has the chance," he said.
Speaking on Asian soccer in general, Pele said that the teams from the continent, as signified by the last World Cup co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, could pose a dangerous threat to the rest of the world.
Specifically referring to South Korea, Japan and China, he said that they should be able to perform even better in the next World Cup if they had the organization they showed in the last World Cup.
Asia has been given four places and a half for the 2006 World Cup. The continent's top four teams in the qualifying tournament will qualify, while the fifth-placed team should be in the playoffs with a team from Latin America for another berth.