PSSI to help place RI's soccer cream

PSSI to help place RI's soccer cream

JAKARTA (JP): The All-Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) is
discussing ways to deploy national junior soccer players who have
completed their training stint in Italy.

"A special team will be set up to discuss it. We hope that a
decision can be reached by and announced on Sept. 1," Nirwan
Bakrie, the man who mastermind the teenagers' two-year stint,
told reporters yesterday.

Half of the 20-strong Italian-trained players have yet to find
any clubs to play with. One player, Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto, has
signed with Swiss premiership side FC Lucerne. Four players have
joined Swedish clubs. The rest of them have confirmed that they
would like to return to their provincial clubs.

PSSI initiated the program in a bid to develop world-class
booters by sending a selected under-19 team to Italy to train
intensively with soccer giant Sampdoria and join the Italian
junior league, Primavera.

Once they are older than 19, they are no longer eligible for
the program.

Nirwan said the special team is needed to conduct a fair
deployment of players because the recipients, mostly Indonesian
league clubs, differ in their financial capacities.

According to Nirwan, one club wanted to take all of the young
players. He did not give the name of the club.

Nirwan also refused to disclose the transfer fees the PSSI
would receive as a result of its intermediary activities, saying
that the special team had not even started its job.

"One thing is sure. We will require the interested team to
sign a two-year contract to employ the players. After that, we
will let things go as they will," Nirwan said.

The junior team has completed its second international tour of
duty in the Olympic Asia Oceania zone qualifying round. South
Korea dashed Indonesia's hopes of making an Olympic appearance in
Atlanta.(arf)