RI coach Withe looks for better luck next time
RI coach Withe looks for better luck next time
Agence France-Presse, Singapore
As Singapore celebrated its Tiger Cup victory, Indonesia coach Peter Withe said he would cast the net wide in search of new talent in the wake of the loss.
"You have to accept defeat as well as victory," said the former England international who coached Thailand to two Tiger Cup wins. "Not even Brazil can win all the time.
"My immediate task is to look at all 5,000 players in Indonesia."
It was third time unlucky for Indonesia, who were also beaten finalists in 2000 and 2002. Withe took over the coaching duties last August.
Meanwhile, Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic hopes his team can build on their emphatic second Tiger Cup victory to become a significant force in Asian soccer.
Singapore romped to a 5-2 aggregate win late on Sunday in the home-and-away final against Indonesia, who failed to recover from their 3-1 defeat in Jakarta on Jan. 8 despite setting the group stages alight with 17 unanswered goals.
Avramovic said after the victory that Singapore had failed to capitalize on their 1998 win in Southeast Asia's international showpiece, the high point of the city-state's soccer history, and should learn from the mistake.
"I want the team to build on the victory," said the Serbia- Montenegrin. "We have to look at what went wrong in 1998 and we have to make sure we don't repeat the mistake."
The Lions wrapped up their victory 2-1 in front of their home fans, courtesy of Indra Sahdan Daud's early strike and a penalty from Agu Casmir.
The final was already well beyond Indonesia's grasp when Eli Aiboy scored their consolation goal deep into the second half.
"Nobody gave us any chance before the tournament," said Avramovic.
"It is a great result for Singapore, no doubt, but we have worked hard to keep up with the rest of Asia. We must build on this success."
He added that the victory, in front of a rare capacity National Stadium crowd, should revive public interest in his team's fortunes.
"The result should bring back support for the national team," said the former Yugoslav star.
No less than President S.R. Nathan turned up to cheer the Lions to victory against a rival with a population 50 times larger than Singapore's.
Malaysia finished third in the 10-team tournament, whose group stages were played in Vietnam and Malaysia, after beating Myanmar 2-1 in Saturday's play-off.