Schumm says drubbing by Korea 'no failure'

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's soccer team coach Bernhard Schumm said on Monday that his team's whipping by South Korea on Saturday in the pre-Olympics qualifying round was not a failure because the Koreans were better prepared and boasted several World Cup players on their team.

Schumm, who is also technical director of the All Indonesian Soccer Federation (PSSI), said his players only trained effectively for six weeks before the match, which they lost 0-7.

"We had played our best to remain in the second place of the Group Eight Asia zone after Korea. We won six of 10 international tournaments and tied three times and lost once.

"Do you call this a failure?

"We lost by a high margin against a team which included World Cup players and had trained for six years for this tournament. What do you expect from this?" the German said emotionally after his arrival from Seoul on Monday afternoon.

No top PSSI official was on hand to greet the team at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

"When we won in Malaysia (in a quadrangular tournament last April), they were all here. But when we lost, nobody's here," Schumm complained.

Most players also blamed a lack of preparation.

"We only trained for six weeks while the Koreans had prepared for six years," said Bambang Pamungkas, a top striker from Persikas in Semarang regency, Central Java.

South Korea overwhelmed Indonesia in the 2000 Olympics Group Eight pre-qualification at the Olympic Stadium, Seoul, in the last of three matches on Saturday. Group eight consists of Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan and Sri Lanka.

Indonesia earlier was tied in top position with Korea with two victories each, but the latter collected more points from goals.

In the opening match on Tuesday, Indonesia won 2-1 against Chinese Taipei and Korea defeated Sri Lanka 5-0. In the second match on Thursday, South Korea thrashed Taipei 7-0 and Indonesia struggled to a 2-1 win over Sri Lanka.

Schumm dismissed calls from local coaches for his resignation over the loss.

"We don't need big-mouthed coaches. They never saw any of the team matches, even once. But when we lost, suddenly they knew what's wrong with us." He added that he took responsibility for the team's performance.

Media Indonesia daily on Monday quoted a member of PSSI's board, F.H. Hutasoit, saying Schumm must resign.

Hutasoit said Schumm failed to develop a good national team and he suggested PSSI replace Schumm with local coaches, including Rudy Keltjes and Berje Matulapelwa, both former national coaches.

Hutasoit suggested Schumm stay on in his post as technical director. (ivy)