The story of the late Alfred Riedl about the Palestinian-Israeli War

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –

Former Indonesian national team coach, deceased Alfred Riedl have little experience of the wars that occurred between Palestine and Israel.

Before coaching the Red and White Team in 2010, Riedl first coached the Palestinian national team from 2004 to 2005. Riedl’s big task in the Palestinian national team occurred in the 2006 World Cup qualification for the Asian zone.

Unfortunately, the Palestinian war with Israel made The Fedayeen, nicknamed the Palestinian national team, have to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Qatar in 2004. The training camp was moved to Egypt.

Ahead of that qualification, Palestine is a player crisis. Only 11 players are ready before facing Uzbekistan. One week later, the number of players decreased due to injuries, only 6 people left.

The struggle for the Palestinian national team under Alfred Riedl was not easy. As many as 10 of their players have difficulty crossing the Israeli-controlled Rafah border in the Gaza Strip.

For two weeks the players were detained. Until finally, only five were allowed to cross and join the national team. It is also thanks to the diplomacy between the Palestinian Football Association, FIFA and the Israeli authorities.

The challenges Riedl faced during the handling of the Palestinian national team were not easy. Apart from the Israeli war with Palestine, Riedl is not equipped with players born from domestic competitions.

[Gambas:Video CNN]

Their home to the 2006 World Cup Qualifiers in Qatar, 1,500 kilometers from Jerusalem, saw only a handful of Palestinian refugees.

Not only that, a number of Palestinian national team players also have heavy mental pressure in the World Cup Qualifiers. Striker Ziyad Al-Kord learned of his house in Gaza being destroyed by Israeli security forces. Likewise with Taysir Amer who lost his property after his family left his house in Qalqilya.

“I call them my little heroes,” Riedl was quoted as saying Guardian.

“Those from the West Bank and Gaza often leave a wife and three or four children and the situation is very dangerous. As a father, I don’t think I can do that. The fear is always there but these people keep coming back,” Riedl added. .