SBY searches for soccer coach for Indonesian team

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says he spent some time abroad last week helping search for professional soccer coach to train Indonesian players.

Yudhoyono said he was disappointed that no Asian teams had made through to the quarterfinals of World Cup 2010, let alone the fact that no Southeast Asian teams made it into the tournament.

He also said he hoped one day Indonesia would represent Southeast Asia in the World Cup.

“During my work visit abroad [last week] I looked for a coach who I thought had a good track record, who had succeeded in taking a team with poor performance to the top. In this way I hope we can improve [our team's performance],” Yudhoyono said as he opened a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Monday.

“I will discuss [the appointment of the coach] immediately with [Indonesian Soccer Association chairman] Noordin Halid and [National Sports Council chief] Rita Soebowo, as well as the youth and sports affairs minister and others.”

However, Yudhoyono did not elaborate on whether he had found a candidate or in which countries he had searched.

The President had left Indonesia on June 24, and had visited Canada, Turkey and Saudi Arabia for a series of meetings before returning to Jakarta on Sunday.

Yudhoyono said that having a great coach alone would not be enough to improve the capacity of the Indonesian team.

“The training, the management, the available facilities and the system must be all equally good,” he said, adding that concrete actions needed to be taken immediately to improve Indonesia’s soccer abilities.

“That’s why I ask for all of us to head in that direction. Our people love soccer and wonder to themselves when Indonesia will at least make to the Asian Cup before the World Cup. It is mandatory for us to become a top performer in Southeast Asia.

Commenting on the World Cup 2010, Yudhoyono said Argentina had been his favorite team before it was crushed by Germany 0-4 last week.