JAKARTA (5 March 2012) – Aji Santoso has been ordered by the FA of Indonesia (PSSI) to concentrate on forming a strong Under-23 squad for the SEA Games 2013 which will be hosted by Myanmar.
Following the bitter disappointment of losing 10-0 to Bahrain in their final group qualifying match of the 2014 World Cup last week, the PSSI have made the decision to have Aji look into whipping a squad of U23 players capable of winning the gold medal they last won in 1991 in the Philippines
“The other teams in ASEAN have already started their preparation for the SEA Games, so we should also do the same,” said Bob Hippy, the Indonesia national team coordinator.
“I have already instructed Aji to look at forming the U23 squad using the available U23 players from the last World Cup match and combined them with the U21 players who are currently in Brunei for the Hassanal Bokiah Trophy.”
While the U21 squad has booked their place in the semi-finals of the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy, the mostly U23 players did not fare well in the game against Bahrain which resulted in a 10-0 thrashing – Indonesia’s biggest defeat in an international match since 1974.
However, Bob said that all the players will have to go through an evaluation process before the new U23 team is formed.
“We are looking at ensuring the maximum possible preparation for the team which will also include a handful of international matches. Aji will have to draw up a programme for this,” added Bob.
