Winning 10th Coke Cup will be a question of luck
SURABAYA (JP): Neither West Java nor Jakarta are burdened with a target to win the final match of the 10th National Coke Cup Under-15 soccer tournament, held at the Gelora November 10 stadium today.
"Let's see which of us will win," Sofyan Noer, Jakarta's team manager, said yesterday.
"Our abilities do not differ much. Which of us will win is just a matter of who has the best luck," West Java's team manager, Akhmad, said.
"Reaching the final itself was already beyond our target of getting into the top four. We realized we're an underdog team. So, we will play without being burdened with any expectations to win," Jakarta's head coach, Kunaryo, said. He added that his team's front line is the main factor which has so far contributed to Jakarta's win. However, "our back line is weak," he said.
West Java's head coach, Afendi Akhmad, said his team will also play without a burden. "Whether we win, or not, no problem," he said. West Java is represented by a team from Jakarta's suburb, Bekasi, which has just won West Java's governor trophy. Afendi added that his playmaker was not good enough to direct the ball but, in general, he sees his team as having solid teamwork.
So far, Jakarta has never won the tournament, while West Java was champion of the inaugural tournament in 1986. Jakarta came third last year and has managed to enter the top four, five times, although the All-Indonesia Football Federation punished it with a one-year suspension in 1992 for an age cheating occurrence.
Ecstatic
Since the start of the tournament late last month (Aug. 25), both West Java and Jakarta have recorded ecstatic journeys to the final.
In the qualifying round matches, West Java blanked West Kalimantan 15-0, routed Bali 3-0, crushed Maluku 4-0, whipped Aceh 2-0. Then, it slowed down to a 1-0 win over South Sulawesi and grafted out a goalless draw against Central Java in the quarterfinals.
West Java's maneuvers peaked when it ousted defending champion East Java 3-2 on a penalty shootout in the semifinal on Tuesday.
Jakarta, on the other hand, started its qualifying rounds trip with a 2-2 draw against Central Java, then proceeded to a dictating 3-0 win over West Sumatra, before going uphill with a 6-0 whip over North Sulawesi, and South Sumatra 3-2 in a penalty shootout.
In the quarterfinals, Jakarta reached the peak, demolishing Aceh 12-1, then quickly pushed the brake for a goalless tie with East Java. Then it edged South Sulawesi 4-3 in the Tuesday semifinal.
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman, the federation's chairman Azwar Anas and East Java's governor, Basofi Sudirman, are scheduled to watch the final match.
The National Coke Cup Under-15 soccer tournament, locally called Piala Haornas Coca-cola, has been held annually since 1986 at the idea of Samsudin Hadade, former head of the federation's referee commission.
The tournament is part of the annual commemoration of National Sports Day, which was inaugurated on Sept. 9 twelve years ago. Scouting teenage soccer talents for the junior national team is the objective of the tournament. Four members of the recently dissolved national junior team, PSSI Primavera I, were selected from the tournament. They are goalie Kurnia Sandy, Bima Sakti, Eko Purjianto and the team's star, striker Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto, who is now playing for Swiss FC Lucerne.
A total of 13 provincial teams, divided into three pools, are taking part in this year's meet. Coca-cola offers Rp 1 million (US$443) to the winning team, Rp 500,000 to the best soccer player and Rp 500,000 to the top scorer of the tournament.
"President Soeharto is scheduled to hand over the Coke Cup to the captain of the winning team on National Sports Day at the state palace," Coca-cola's public relation manager, Jannus O. Hutapea said. (arf)