Courtesy: The Jakarta Globe


Pressed for Time, National Futsal Team Turns to Experienced Players

April 24, 2009

by Wimbo Satwiko

Putting together teams in short order is becoming something of a habit for Indonesian futsal national team head coach Justinus Lhaksana.

After picking 25 players for his provisional squad last week, Justinus opened a three-day training camp on Wednesday to trim the squad to 20. Two tryouts against Indonesian Futsal League sides — a 4-2 loss to Jakarta Electric PLN and an 8-1 defeat of Hanggar IBM — ended the camp.

Justinus said he will likely pick experienced players for the AFF Futsal Championship, which takes place June 8-14 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

“As we have a very short preparation, I will opt for experienced players, but I will also pick seven to eight new players,” he said on Friday. “The coaching staff will examine players’ performance in these tryouts, and we'll announce the 20 names in a day or two.”

The lack of Indonesian Futsal League play on which to judge players forced the coach’s hand. He did say, though, that the National Futsal Body, or BFN, will continue scouting players after the league starts on May 2 in advance of the Asian Indoor Games and Asian Futsal Cup qualifiers.

Indonesia swept through the group stage of the 2008 AFF Futsal Championship in Bangkok before losing 5-1 to Thailand in the final. After the tournament, the national team disbanded and was inactive for eight months.

Justinus said that layoff was not helpful.

“The AFF Futsal Championship was the last event we played,” he said. “We then had no activities for eight months. It's very bad. Thailand has always been the region’s powerhouse, but I don't know how far Malaysia and Burma have been progressing.”

Indonesia also had an abbreviated preparation for the 2008 tournament. The BFN only decided to send a team on Aug. 14, less than two weeks before the tournament was scheduled to begin.

Indonesia received a tough draw in Group A, falling alongside defending champion Thailand, Burma and Malaysia. Host Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and East Timor make up Group B. The top two teams in each group advance to the semifinals.

Meanwhile, BFN vice-chairman Jerico Umbas confirmed the 2009 futsal season will begin May 2. The first two series of the year will take place in Jakarta, with the next two to follow in Solo, Central Java, and Yogyakarta, respectively.

“I hope there will be no problem in getting a police permit, as we have already submitted the application long before,” he said.







Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com