JAKARTA (21 Jan 2012) – Former Indonesia Under-23 chief coach Rahmad Darmawan ended weeks of speculation this week when he signed a two-year contract with Pelita Jaya of the Indonesian Super League (ISL).
Rahmad said he chose Pelita Jaya, owned by the Bakrie family, because they promised him the freedom to manage his own team.
“The management also promised to give me a chance to improve my coaching level abroad. Those are the reasons I chose Pelita Jaya,” Rahmad said.
The 44-year-old resigned as the chief coach of the Indonesia U23 in December after leading the team to second place at the SEA Games. He said being unable to pick players from the ISL and Premier Division was behind his departure. The former Persipura Jayapura and Sriwijaya FC coach shrugged off the threat of sanctions for joining the ISL.
“I never care where I play or coach. The most important thing is I enjoy it. I want to know if the federation and the committee can keep their word. They said they would only sanction match officials. I want to know if they can be consistent,” he said.
His debut is Monday, when Pelita Jaya hosts Persija Jakarta at the Manahan Stadium in Solo.
“If there’s one man we want to lead our team, it is Rahmadt. We want to see local coaches in the world football scene. We hope collaboration from I Made Pasek Wijaya, Jajang Nurjaman and Rahmad will bring us a glorious year,” said Pelita Jaya manager Lalu Mara Satriawangsa.
SOURCE: Jakarta Globe
