Soccer team manager apologizes for failure

Soccer team manager apologizes for failure

JAKARTA (JP): The manager of Indonesia's soccer team, Nirwan Dermawan Bakrie, apologized yesterday for the team's failure to make it into the semifinals at the Southeast Asian Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Underdog Vietnam, making its debut at the biennial Games, shattered Indonesia's dream of making it through into the next round with a decisive 1-0 victory on Tuesday.

"I apologized for the failure of the soccer team. This is my responsibility. I hope the failure won't make Indonesian soccer fans turn to another sport," Nirwan said.

Indonesia, which needed only a draw to get into the semifinals was emphatically humiliated by Vietnam.

"Tuesday's loss upset everyone. This is a valuable lesson to the National Soccer Association which must formulate a strategy for reaching the world championships in 2002," Nirwan said.

A tearful assistant coach, Andy Teguh, also apologized.

"I am sorry to all soccer supporters in Indonesia for the loss," he said.

Nirwan said the association and all of the players had tried their best, but that the team remained inconsistent in its performance during matches.

Nirwan pledged that the training and development program will continue although the soccer team failed to make a good showing at the SEA Games. The problem now is to regain the people's support and to better motivate the players so they will try harder.

"As the team manager, I'll take the responsibility before the executive board of the association and ensure that the players had tried their best," he said as reported by Antara from Chiang Mai.

Nirwan denied reports that the players were carrying a burden too heavy for them to bear.

Despite the introduction of junior players from the Primavera project into the national soccer team, which is usually made up of only senior players, the public should have no doubts about their team, Nirwan said.

"So far, the senior players of the Indonesian League have not complained about the Primavera booters and there was no conflict between the different training systems," he said.

Nirwan said the better technical skill and zealous spirit of the Vietnamese had surprised the Indonesian team which was overconfident after their 9-0 drubbing of Cambodia and their 3-0 win over favorite Malaysia.

He said the main factor in the Vietnamese victory was their aggressive play, which frustrated the Indonesian players. (05)