CNN Indonesia
Saturday, 11 March 2023 11:20 WIB
Jakarta, CNNIndonesia —
Coach U-22 Indonesian National Team Indra Sjafri reveals the reasons for crossing out two national team subscription players at the training camp (TC) SEA Games 2023.
The two subscription players for the Indonesian national team that Indra crossed out were Sutan Zico and Rendy Juliansyah. According to Indra, the two players did not meet his criteria to appear at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia.
“Because the quality was not good, we sent them home,” said Indra at ABC Field, Senayan, Saturday (11/3) morning.
Sutan Zico has defended the U-16 National Team, the U-18 National Team and the U-19 National Team. Zico is the top scorer for qualifying for the 2018 U-16 Asian Cup. Meanwhile, Rendy Juliansyah has played for the U-17 National Team and the U-19 National Team. Both are players who brought Indonesia to win the 2018 AFF U-16 Cup.
“We monitor everything on medical, psychological tests, IQ tests, we do everything. The accumulation of assessments is what we choose. Including the question earlier about Zico and Rendy, it’s not fair to me. Even though we used to be national team players, what we choose is the latest quality, said Indra.
Indra has repatriated a total of 17 of the 34 players summoned for the first stage of the TC SEA Games. Instead, the 60-year-old coach called 17 new names.
The majority of the 17 new players summoned by Indra are players from League 2 clubs. However, there are also League 1 players who have also been brought to Jakarta.
“Yesterday we sent 17 players home, and 17 players are still there [mayoritas] Liga 2 players. There are from Persebaya, so this is a combination [Liga 1 dan Liga 2],” said Indra.
Even though he mostly summoned League 2 players, Indra still opened the door for League 1 players in the future. The plan is to do this in early April.
“I want to see their potential and if they have entered the training stage then prospectively, they can become competitors for regular League 1 players. After this [pemain-pemain] League 1 will be called on April 1,” he added.
The ongoing competition was the reason Indra did not immediately call League 1 players. However, Indra continued to maintain communication with the club as the player owner.
“This is the communication we are building. Because I am the coach who handles FIFA’s non-official agenda, we must establish communication with the club,” said Indra.
(ikw/har)