Withe to seal deal with PSSI

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Peter Withe of Britain is expected to arrive in Jakarta on Jan. 22 and is likely to sign a four-year coaching contract with the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI), according to a PSSI official here on Thursday.

Muhammad Zein, a PSSI's official in charge of the national teams, told The Jakarta Post that it was almost 99 percent that Withe, who served a five-year stint in Thailand between 1998 and 2003, would be the Indonesian soccer coach.

However, He said that they would have to discuss some details before the signing of the contract.

Zein declined to mention the contract value as yet, only implying it was around the same range with what the Briton received in Thailand.

According to reports, Withe received around US$14,000 per month in Thailand. His term expired in November, a month after he was suspended following the Thai team's failure to qualify for the Athens Olympics.

Zein said that Withe's main responsibility would be to handle the Under-20 team with the hopes that the team can show improvement after four years.

With the U-20 Asian Cup set to for October in Malaysia, PSSI looks forward to seeing the team reach at least the quarterfinals, Zein said.

Besides his coaching role for the U-20 team, the former striker of English premier league's Aston Villa will supervise the other age-group teams.

Meanwhile, Ivan Venkov Kolev, the coach of the senior team, said that he would announce the squad on Jan. 25 and 26 for the 2006 World Cup qualifying matches against Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18.

Kolev of Bulgaria said that the suspensions imposed by PSSI on several players following the clash during the match between Persija Jakarta and Persita Tangerang early this month had no effect on the national squad's expected players.