Striker pair puzzles RI ahead of final
Striker pair puzzles RI ahead of final
JAKARTA (JP): The coach of the national soccer team, Nandar
Iskandar, faces a dilemma in naming his strikers for the
Independence Cup final against Iraq on Sunday.
Nandar said he was not satisfied with some of the striker
combinations in the previous three matches, in which he paired
Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto with either Gendut Dony or Rocky Puttiray.
"Pairing Kurniawan with Rocky brought a lot of difficulties
because the latter has never trained with the national team,"
Nandar said.
Rocky, who currently plays for the Hong Kong-based Instant
Dict club, joined the national team just one day before the Cup
kicked off.
The coach also admitted he was less than comfortable in giving
Gandut a place in his starting lineup given his lack of
international experience.
Indonesia settled for a goalless draw against a weakened Iraqi
side in their first encounter on Friday, after having scored five
goals in its previous two matches against Myanmar and Chinese
Taipei.
Nandar hinted he preferred Europe-based Bambang Pamungkas to
partner Kurniawan in leading his team's charge.
In the center of the field, Nandar said he would continue to
play experienced players like Aji Santoso, Anang Ma'ruf, Bima
Sakti, Uston Nawawi, and the younger Ismet Sofyan and Imran
Nahumarury.
In the defensive half, Nur'alim looks to form the backbone
along with Warsidi, Eko Purjianto and new national team member
Jet Donald Laala, who received a call-up after the end of the
Bank Mandiri soccer league last month.
Nandar maintained he would field the lineup that would be the
most ideal to overcome a solid Iraqi team on Sunday.
"I have told my players to be prepared for any type of playing
style from Iraq," he said, adding that the goalless draw on
Friday was not a true representation of Iraq's actual strength.
"We will be watchful of Iraq's key players. Iraq will surely
field all its best players in the final," he said.
A victory will give Indonesia its first international title
since it won the gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games in 1991.
A win also would provide Indonesia a boost for the Asian Cup
finals in Lebanon in October.
Iraq is using this tournament to assess how far its junior
players may go in the Asian Youth Under-19 championships and the
2002 World Cup prequalifying round later this year.
From Friday's match, Nandar said Iraq received a good
indication of Indonesia's speed and power, and also learned that
Indonesia had trouble cracking Iraq's solid defense.
Iraq coach Barja Maric pledged a full-action final match. "The
big match is on Sunday. We want to win and we will dedicate the
match to the public." (ivy)