As part of the inaugural implementation of the MoU between the Sports Ministries of Indonesia and Argentina, two Indonesian soccer coaches will soon depart to Buenos Aires to participate in a two-week training for trainers session
s part of the inaugural implementation of the MoU between the Sports Ministries of Indonesia and Argentina, two Indonesian soccer coaches will soon depart to Buenos Aires to participate in a two-week training for trainers session.
Bambang Warsito and Wiluyo Santoso are the two under-16 team coaches, who were selected by the Indonesian Youth and Sports Ministry to attend training for trainers from April 14 to April 25 in Argentine's capital city.
"We are happy to inaugurate the sports agreement between our countries with these two Indonesian coaches that will go to Argentina. We hope they can feel the way Argentine children feel about learning football," Argentina Ambassador H.E. Javier A. Sanz de Urquiza said Friday.
The Sports MoU between Indonesia and Argentina was signed in July last year.
Just like in Indonesia, soccer is also Argentina's most popular sport.
Argentina's national soccer team is one of the most powerful teams in the world as it currently ranks ninth in the FIFA World Ranking. Argentina has twice won the FIFA World Cup in 1978 and 1986.
"Argentine football coaches are looked after well, therefore I hope they can transmit their experience to their *Indonesian* colleagues," said Urquiza, citing that Chile and Paraguay, which qualified for the 2010 World Cup, both have soccer coaches from Argentina.
Bambang, 44, who has been an assistant soccer coach at the Ragunan athlete school in South Jakarta since 2003, said he expected to improve the country's young soccer players to play modern football.
"I want my students to play in a team. Our players have good skills but they need more work in team performance," said Bambang who took his students to the runner-up of the Asian School Foot-ball Championship U-18 in China in 2008.
Meanwhile, Wiluyo, 46, who has been working for the past five years as a goalkeeping coach at the PPLP (Student Training and Education Center) in Medan, North Sumatra, expressed his enthusiasm to go to Argentina.
"It's such a blessing for me to finally go to Argentina as I grew up playing soccer and watching Mario Kempes perform in the soccer field," said Wiluyo.
Mario Alberto Kempes is an Argentine soccer player who took his country to triumph at the World Cup in 1978.
During the less-than-two-weeks training session, Bambang and Wiluyo will visit the soccer academy for Argentina's junior players to learn about their coaching program, nutrition and watch the U-16 and senior team matches.
"We hope to extend this train-ing cooperation not only for our coaches but also our youth soccer players," said a staff member at the Youth and Sports Ministry, James Tangkudung, also present at the conference.
Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.