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No sooner had the national team training camp got under way than coach Benny Dollo discovered he had a big problem on his hands.

By Saturday, day two of the first phase of the national team training camp for the 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers, only 11 of the 25 players called up had arrived at the Sawangan training camp, leaving Benny disappointed to say the least.

“I understand that it’s Idul Fitri and players are facing problems getting tickets to come to Jakarta, and if that’s the case, I understand that completely,” Benny said on Saturday.

“But tickets are not the only problem. Several players phoned me to say that their clubs were reluctant to release them for the training camp.

“This shouldn’t be happening because we had deals with the clubs and we only have a very short time to train together before the Super League starts on October 11,” he said.

The Indonesian National Team Body (BTN) originally scheduled a training camp from Sept. 25 to Nov. 18 in Denpasar, Bali, during which time players called up to the national team were to be banned from appearing for their clubs.

But after hearing clubs’ objections, Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) chairman Nurdin Halid decided to allow national players to play for their respective clubs in the league, with the national team training together from Sept. 25 to Oct. 6.

“Now several clubs have asked that their players be excused from the training camp because they have to play in friendlies before the season starts. And I’m not allowing that,” said Benny, who is also technical director of Persija Jakarta. “I’m going to call those clubs to remind them about our deal and ask them to respect it.”

With the league due to start shortly, almost all Super League clubs have scheduled training camps and warm-up games. Champion Persipura Jayapura is in Malang, East Java, for warm-up matches against local clubs, while Copa Indonesia champ Sriwijaya FC has just returned to Palembang after a similar trip to the same area.

Meanwhile, all Super League clubs based in East Java are taking part in the East Java League – a preseason tournament held annually in the province — which started on Sunday.

“I don’t think those friendlies are more important than the national team,” Benny said. “The camp will run only for 11 days and I promise they will be back at their respective clubs on October 6, just in time to train with their clubs before the league starts.”

Indonesia is scheduled to travel to Kuwait on Nov. 14 for a 2011 Asian Cup qualifier before hosting the return match on Nov. 18. After that the national team will host Oman on Jan. 6 before closing the group stage away to Australia on March 3.

Benny’s squad now lies in third place in Group B with two points from two draws against Oman and Australia, and his future role as national coach could be determined by whether the team manages to qualify for the finals.

“I hope the clubs realize that their actions could cost Indonesia the chance to qualify from the group,” he said.



National team squad:

Goalkeepers : Dian Agus Prasetyo (Pelita Jaya), Markus Harison (no club), Ferry Rotinsulu (Sriwijaya FC)

Defenders : Charis Yulianto (Sriwijaya), Ricardo Salampessy (Persipura Jayapura), Maman Abdurrahman (Persib Bandung), Djayusman Triasdi (PSM Makassar), Rachmat Latief (PSM), Muhammad Ridwan (Pelita), Ismed Sofyan (Persija Jakarta), Isnan Ali (Sriwijaya), Muhammad Nasuha (Sriwijaya), Nova Arianto (Persib)

Midfielders : Firman Utina (Pelita), Ponaryo Astaman (Sriwijaya), Muhammad Ilham (Persija), Arif Suyono (Sriwijaya), Ian Louis Kabes (Persipura), Syamsul Bachri (PSM), Hariono (Persib), Eka Ramdani (Persib)

Strikers: Talaohu Abdul Mushafry (Persiba Balikpapan), Saktiawan Sinaga (Persik Kediri), Boaz Solossa (Persipura), Bambang Pamungkas (Persija)



Antara, JG