Winning 10th Coke Cup will be a question of luck

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)