Jakarta - Alfred Riedl wants his squad to get all the rest it can. Once the national training camp reopens in October, it will be all work for the Indonesia football team.
National coach Riedl will break camp today for the Idul Fitri holiday and won’t meet his players again until training resumes on Oct. 3.
Heading to the recess, Riedl is relieved to have wrapped up a pair of local friendlies with what he calls “a slightly improved performance” by his team.
He also voiced his opinion on the series of international friendlies the National Team Body (BTN) set up for next month, calling the Ivory Coast match on Oct. 13 “a test of fitness” for his squad.
Not surprisingly, the national team won both its tune-up matches against Premier Division clubs, the Austrian coach’s first games at the helm of the Merah Putih.
Riedl found the way his squad played in a 3-0 defeat of Pro Titan in Jakarta on Sunday more pleasing than the team’s first effort on Thursday in which it struggled to a 4-1 victory over Persita Tangerang.
As in the first match, Riedl divided his squad into two sides, each of which played one extended half of 60 minutes. While he observed that his team lacked aggressiveness, Riedl did say his team “played a little better.”
“The first team looked fresh compared to the second team, which missed some chances in the second half. But I think we played a little better than in the first match,” Riedl said.
Defender Ricardo Salampessy and forward Yongki Aribowo missed Sunday’s friendly because of injury. In their absence, Riedl tinkered with his game plan as he resorted to a 4-2-3-1 formation in the second half and found that the adjustment worked.
“We missed Yongki, so the second team had to play under a new system. I think [the team] played quite well, but it’s still not what I wanted to see. I want the boys to fight for every position,” Riedl said.
For the second straight game, it was forward Bambang Pamungkas who stood out.
Playing for the first-half side, Bambang asserted himself from the start. He set up a pinpoint cross to defender Nova Arianto, but Nova’s shot sailed over the bar. After midfielder Arif Suyono broke the deadlock, Bambang’s free kick made it 2-0.
The national team’s second-half squad broke through Pro Titan’s defense and had several scoring chances. However, lapses in midfield left Riedl’s players vulnerable in defense. Forward M Isnaini scored the third and final goal.
Riedl said he wanted to play “a weaker opponent” before his squad faces Ivory Coast. BTN said Indonesia was due to play Uruguay in a friendly on Oct. 9, but Riedl said the Ivory Coast match was the only one confirmed.
“According to my information the match against Ivory Coast is already set up, but before that we want to look for a relatively weak opponent that we can play,” the coach said.
“But we have to look at the players’ conditioning when they return to camp. I know Ivory Coast is much stronger than us, but I hope the boys will be much fitter than they are now so we can play better.”
Between the holiday break and the resumption of the national training camp, the players will report to their respective clubs, which are gearing up for the opening of the Indonesian Super League on Sept. 26.
Around that time, Riedl will also be busy. He will fly to Hanoi to watch the friendly between Vietnam and North Korea on Sept. 24.
Riedl and BTN head Iman Arif will then proceed to Amsterdam to meet with Netherlands football officials regarding BTN’s plans to hold a training camp for Dutch football players of Indonesian descent.
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com