PSSI's nominee choices still up in the air

JAKARTA (JP): The All-Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) is holding back all junior players from joining the centralized training program for the Southeast Asian Games pending their completion of their Olympic Games qualifying round duty.

"Up to now only 22 players from the national league have lined up in our national SEA Games team. We are considering adding the names from the Olympic soccer team after the qualifying round ends," Arie Sudewo, who heads the national training center, told reporters on Monday.

Arie's explanation put an end to recent debates over the number and names of booters who deserve to be called-up to train at the SEA Games training center.

Confusion resulted last week after Nirwan Bakrie, a PSSI official involved in setting up a national team, said that six teenagers who are on Olympic duty had been chosen to join the SEA Games training program.

Almost simultaneously, however, Nirwan's Secretary-General Endro Soemardjo told a hearing with the National Sports Council (KONI) that only four Olympic team members would train at the center early next month after playing their away matches in Seoul and Hong Kong.

To make matter worse, the PSSI itself announced that ten of the 22 players on the national Olympic team would join their seniors for the centralized training stint.

Arie has stressed that there is no guarantee that the ten names announced by the PSSI will eventually win the call-up for the SEA Games.

"We will evaluate their individual performances during their pre-Olympic away matches against South Korea and Hong Kong. Some of the PSSI's nominees may be picked up or dropped," Arie said.

KONI has said that inserting Olympic players into the SEA Games soccer team is necessary because it was setting its sights higher.

KONI reiterated that the PSSI's aim of reaching the final at the Dec. 9-17 SEA Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand. "But now we want a gold medal," Arie said.

"I am optimistic the combination of players from the league's clubs and their pre-Olympic counterparts will make for a solid national team," Arie said.

As for the 22 booters already selected to train at the center, Nirwan confirmed that no change or replacement will be made.

"The fates the Olympic booters will be decided by national team assistant coach Andi Teguh who is monitoring their ups and downs," Bakrie added.

Concerning two booters who have turned down the offer to join the training stint, national SEA Games soccer team manager Agum Gumelar said the PSSI must try to persuade the two estranged booters, Yusuf Bachtiar and Fachri Husaini, to change their minds.

"We must find out why they did not respond to the call to train at the center," he said. Agum believes that every citizen must regard the chance to defend his country in sports as an honor.

Yusuf of Persib Bandung has chosen not to join the centralized training because he has been away from his family and job for quite a long time. Pupuk Kaltim's Fachri said he was unwilling to join because, he said, unauthorized people are still playing a role in the selection of players. (arf)