Rejuvenated soccer squad set to return to Asian Games

Moch. N. Kurniawan The Jakarta Post Jakarta

It has been a long dry season, but the resurgent national soccer team will return to the 2006 Asian Games in Qatar after an absence of 16 years, the National Sports Council (KONI) said on Tuesday.

"The national team's performance has improved recently," KONI chairman Agum Gumelar said. "It has reached the final of the 2004 Tiger Cup with an impressive performance and booked its first win in the Asia Cup. We will send them to the 2006 Asian Games."

He added that the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) had been warned by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) about the team's absence from the past four Games.

In its last outing in 1986 in Seoul, the team finished fourth.

Except for winning the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games titles in Jakarta in 1987 and Manila in 1991, the team's fortunes have suffered in recent years, particularly with the rise of Thailand as a soccer powerhouse.

The national team was still able to qualify for the final round of the Asia Cup in 1996 and 2000, only to be quickly eliminated.

It also reached the final of the Tiger Cup -- a biennial soccer competition in Southeast Asia -- in 2000 and 2002, losing to Thailand both times.

In 2004, the team again qualified for the Asia Cup final round. It shrugged off its dismal performances of the past for its first 2-1 victory against Qatar, but later lost 0-5 to China and 1-3 to Bahrain.

Local soccer fans and sports officials have been heartened by its outstanding showing in the 2004 Tiger Cup, which began in December. The team scored 22 goals and conceded only three goals on its way to the final against Singapore.

The final matches will be held in Jakarta on Jan. 8 and in Singapore on Jan. 16.