TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head Coach Indra Sjafri has crossed out another three players from Indonesia’s under-19 (U-19) soccer team list. As promised, Indra let go three of his players before the match against Myanmar’s U-19 team.
“In the national training, promotion and degradation are common things,” Indra said in Jakarta, Monday, May 5, 2014. Indra said that in the future the coaches would continue to send home players who failed to compete in the training camp. The three players crossed out from the U-19 team are Sukarno Andi Wijaya, Hamdan Zamzani and Reza Fahlevi.
Indra recruited Sukarno Andi and Hamdan Zamzani from last year’s Archipelago trial tour, while Reza Fahlevi joined the U-19 national team in November last year. Indra, meanwhile, is still giving Martinus Novianto, a pre-PON (National Games) player hailing from Yogyakarta, a chance. There are currently 28 players on the Garuda Muda Team.
Indra said the dismissal of the players was based on technical evaluations and the player’s mentality, adding that the rivalry among players in the national training camp had been tight. Aside from physical excellence and techniques, Indra said he longed for players with intelligence and strong mentality.
Maldini Pali, the team’s wingman, confirmed the tight rivalry among players on the team. “The tightest is among midfielders,” he said.
The U-19 national team has been scheduled for trial matches against their Myanmar counterpart and the Liverpool U-18 in May. These games seek to bolster the physical ability, mentality and skills of the players prior to the U-19 Asian Cup finals U-19 in Myanmar slated for October 9-13.
PSSI | ADITYA BUDIMAN
