Schumm says drubbing by Korea 'no failure'
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)