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ndonesian Super League (ISL) champion Persib Bandung is going to send its coach Djadjang Nurdjaman and three players to Serie A'€™s Inter Milan for training in a collaboration announced in Jakarta on Wednesday.

During a media conference at Hotel Fairmont Senayan, Inter Milan president Indonesian Erick Tohir said the training program could have begun earlier if not for the ongoing soccer crisis.

'€œAs an Indonesian I must assist national soccer. This program has a clear goal with its feasible plan,'€ Erick was quoted by Antara as saying. He was accompanied by Persib chairman Glenn Sugita.

Djadjang will depart for Italy on Thursday while the players '€” Gian Zola, Febri Hariyadi and Jujun Saepuloh '€” will follow next month.

'€œI already have a copy of the program sheet that must be followed by Djadjang during his Italian camp. He will undergo a coaching program for under-16s, primavera and B team,'€ Erick said.

He hoped Djadjang could capitalize on his six-month Italian camp at Inter Academy, saying that not many Indonesian coaches had received such an opportunity. Djadjang is expected to copy Inter'€™s development methodology to be practiced later in Bandung.

'€œI hope that this collaboration can increase the popularity of soccer in Indonesia. With a big name like Internazionale and a great effort to develop young players, that is likely to happen,'€ Erick, who is also chairman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI), said.

Gian Zola, one of the young players who will travel to Italy, jokingly said: '€œOf course we are happy with this chance. We will have to prepare mentally, but also for the food.'€

Djadjang, a club legend not only because of his coaching, but also for his time as a player with Persib, expressed his confidence that Persib could profit from the knowledge of a club like Internazionale.

Meanwhile, Glenn said that the players would undergo one month of training in Milan.

'€œThis a good chance for them to improve playing skills. I hope their trip to Italy will motivate other players to fare better,'€ he said.

Persib Bandung won the 2014 ISL, but was deprived of a chance to defend following the flare-up of a national soccer crisis involving a conflict between the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI).

The conflict led to the suspension of the PSSI by the ministry, which deemed it was resisting its recommendation to exclude '€œillegal'€ clubs.

The conflict later resulted in an indefinite ban for national soccer from international tournaments by world soccer body FIFA, which viewed the ministry as interfering with soccer affairs.

Inter Milan, under coach Roberto Mancini, is currently in third place in the Serie A standings, after Napoli and Juventus.
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The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post