Courtesy: The Jakarta Globe


Futsal Players Face Tough Battle in Tashkent: Coach

February 26, 2010

by Wimbo Satwiko

Qualifying for the 2010 AFC Futsal Championship finals is a major step for Indonesia, but the job is far from finished, and coach Robby Hartono acknowledged he has a big task to get the team ready to play well in the event.

Indonesia’s send-off for the tournament proper ended with a thud as it lost 3-0 to Australia in the Asean qualifying final at Gelora Bung Karno Tennis Indoor Stadium on Thursday. It was the second consecutive loss to the Futsalroos, after the host also lost 4-1 in their group-stage match.

Vietnam claimed the last ticket to the championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, beating Malaysia 6-3 in the third-place match.

Robby said the team would have to play better in the championship, which takes place in the Uzbek capital from May 23 to 30, if it hoped to make its presence felt.

However, he’s delighted with the progress that the squad made during the qualifying rounds.

“Despite losing to Australia again in the final, the boys showed a better fighting spirit and gave their best performance since the qualifying started,” he said.

“It was our second loss to Australia, and I hope we can take great lessons from it.”

Since 2002, Indonesia has qualified for all of the Asian Championships except in 2006. But the team has never gone beyond the group stage.

Indonesia finished third behind Thailand and Kyrgyzstan in the 2008 championship in Bangkok and failed to move to the quarterfinals.

China, South Korea, Taiwan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Iran, Thailand and Japan have also booked places in the finals in Tashkent. Looking at the list, the Indonesia coach acknowledges that the tournament will be tough for his team.

“I know we’ll play much better in Uzbekistan, but I have set my target to qualify through the knockout stage. To achieve the target, we need proper support from the Indonesian Football Association,” said Robby, who was appointed team coach in January to replace Justinus Lhaksana.

Robby plans to start preparing early, as he wants to make history by leading the team into the knockout rounds.

“I will assess our current squad. Those who didn’t play well in the qualifying rounds might be dropped,” he said. “The national team door is also open for those who didn’t make it to this squad but have been showing some progress.” Futsal


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