RI's soccer team 'should be in Asiad'
JAKARTA (JP): Acting All Indonesian Soccer Federation chairman Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar said on Wednesday that the disgraced national team still deserved a shot at competing in December's Asian Games in Bangkok.
Speaking after an executive meeting he presided over after taking over from Azwar Anas on Tuesday, Agum said he would ask approval from National Sports Council chairman, Wismoyo Arismunandar and State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Agung Laksono.
Agum, who is also governor of the National Resilience Institute, is to meet Wismoyo on Friday.
"Frankly speaking we will not set a certain target for the Asiad. We just want to know our place on the continent's soccer map. Whatever the outcome, it will be a valuable input to our soccer development," Agum said.
On Tuesday the sports council's deputy chairman, Arie Sudewo, reiterated that there would be no place reserved for the soccer team in the national squad for the Asiad following its shameful display in the Tiger Cup in Vietnam last week.
Not only did Indonesia fail to win the trophy, it was fined US$40,000 by the ASEAN Football Federation for its role in a bizarre match against Thailand. A deliberate own goal by Mursyid Effendy handed Indonesia a desired defeat that avoided a semifinal clash with the host Vietnam.
But both Indonesia and Thailand lost in the semifinals.
The fiasco forced Azwar to resign, 15 months before his term was due to end. Team manager Andrie Amien and coach Rusdy Bahalwan have both tendered their resignations, but the federation has yet to decide their fates.
Except for the humiliating display, Agum gave credit on Wednesday to the way Rusdy's side performed during the tournament. It finished beat Thailand in the third-place playoff.
"We just applied the wrong strategy and it turned out to put too great a pressure on the players in the semifinal. But I have to admit that the team was embarrassing," he said.
Agum said he was considering a team reshuffle for the Asiad, including appointing a new coach.
He also plans major changes in the federation's board of executives when he is formally inducted as chairman in November.
"I want to appoint staff who dedicate their lives to soccer, regardless of their social status and welfare," he said.
When asked about the league's new season, Agum said he still had no idea if it would take place as planned next month.
"I don't know how the preparations for the league have progressed, but I think the new season is unlikely to kick off in October due to security reasons," he said.
He was referring to the planned extraordinary convention of the People's Consultative Assembly in November. (yan)