RAHMAD DARMAWAN (JP/Khairul Saleh)

After winning both the Indonesian Copa and Indonesian League championship trophies through Sriwijaya FC of Palembang, South Sumatra, early this year, Rahmad Darmawan deserves to be acknowledged as one of the country's most phenomenal soccer coaches.

His success at leading Sriwijaya FC, also known as Laskar Wong Kito (Our People's Warriors), to win two prestigious championships in only one season is the first in Indonesian soccer history.

Rahmad, 42, previously succeeded in garnering three trophies for two other soccer clubs, which saw him nominated as coach of the Indonesian national team.

Rahmad's strength no only lies in his technical mastery and theory of soccer, but also in his understanding of sports psychology.

"To succeed as a soccer coach, it is not as simple as demanding your players master basic soccer knowledge and skills to optimize their performances ... but you need to know the psychology of coaching. The most important thing for a coach to master is the ability to control situations outside of technical problems," Rahmad recently told The Jakarta Post at Wisma Pertiwi resort, Palembang, South Sumatra.

Commenting on the rough image of Indonesian soccer, Rahmad said his biggest concerns were clashes between players regarding referee decisions.

"A soccer player needs to focus. The more a player complains about referee calls, the more he loses his focus. If this happens, then he is sure to fail," he said.

Rahmad said he always encouraged his players to be "soccer wise" and accept referee calls.

"From players, to coaches and fans ... we should all learn to accept referee calls," he added.

Rahmad, who took a Coaching major at the Institute of Teaching and Education, says the psychology factor in sport cannot be ignored.

The father of two, who was an active captain during his military career, once attempted to implement strict rules on his players to discipline them. He said that approach failed and he had opted to use a combined personal and professional approach ever since, treating his team members as part of a big family.

Born in Lampung on Nov. 26, 1966, Rahmad first experienced sport when he played badminton in the third grade of elementary school. During sixth grade, he left badminton and started up with soccer.

Rahmad began his professional soccer career after he joined Persija of Jakarta as a player, after which he became coach of Persikota of Tangerang from 2000 to 2004.

He then left Persikota and earned an international coaching license under the guidance of Horst Kriete and Bernd Fisher, after which he joined Persipura.

Rahmad's brilliant coaching skills were proven through his new team's performances, and contracts from other clubs, like Perak FC of Malaysia and Persebaya of Surabaya, came flooding in.

In 2006, Rahmad chose to join Persija, which he later regretted as he was not able to lead the team to victory.

"I admit I made a mistake by joining Persija as its coach. At the time, I agreed to join under an agreement the team would sign Agu Casmir (defender of Singapore's national team), Emmanuel De Porras (former striker of Persija and PSIS Semarang) and Ronald Fagundes (defender Persik Kediri). But when I was there, those players were moving out," said Rahmad.

Amid tough circumstances that year, Rahmad lead Persija to the top eight of the Indonesian League and third in the Indonesian Copa championships.

Rahmad has recently signed a two-year contract with Sriwijaya FC, where he says he enjoys the freedom to determine technical strategies without intervention from outside parties.

With the full support of his parents, friends like Tarehatta (coach of the Christian University of Indonesia team), Maruli Sianipar (former manager of Persija), Hindarto (coach of Persija), as well as wife Eti Yuliawati, 38, and children Aldina Darmawan, 14, and Ravaldi Agung Darmawan, 9, Rahmad hopes to build up Sriwijaya FC.

"I want Sriwijaya FC to reach the top of the national soccer ladder."

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