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Rahmad Maintains No Decision ‘So Far’ to Quit as U-23 Coach
Wimbo Satwiko | December 11, 2011

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As stories about his resignation spread over the Internet, under-23 coach Rahmad Darmawan remained calm and dismissed the rumors.

Media reported that Rahmad would hand in his resignation to the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) today and then sign a contract with the rebel Indonesian Super League side Pelita Jaya.

But the 44-year-old coach denied any rumors about his departure from the national team.

“I haven’t made any decision so far. Media took my quotes from the post-match press conference after the SEA [Southeast Asian Games] final,” he said in a text message on Sunday.

The speculation over Rahmad’s future arose after PSSI chairman Djohar Arifin Husin declared on Friday that players who took part in the ISL are not eligible to wear the red and white jersey if they play in the breakaway league.

Djohar cited as the reason article 79 of the FIFA statutes, which states: “Matches against teams whose players do not belong to a club or a League affiliated to a FIFA member are prohibited.”

ISL was once the official top flight but the association disbanded the league in August and introduced the Indonesian Premier League. However, 18 clubs that weren’t happy with the PSSI’s new leadership opted to revive the ISL instead.

After losing to Malaysia in the SEA Games gold-medal match last month, Rahmad said he was disappointed with the division inside the PSSI that led to the formation of two competing leagues. He said that it would be difficult to build good team if he couldn’t pick players from both leagues.

“As the U-23 national team head coach, I should have authority to pick best players from any league. If I don’t have the privilege, I prefer to resign from the job,” he said then.

Last week, Pelita Jaya claimed that it was only matter of time before the club secured Rahmad’s signature.

“He will hand his resignation letter in near future and after that he will sign a two-year contract with Pelita Jaya,” the club’s technical director Rahim Soekasah said on Friday.

Pelita Jaya is looking for a new coach after Misha Radovic’s contract expired in November. Currently, assistant coach Jajang Nurjaman is leading the club.

Rahmad, who started his coaching career at Persikota Tangerang in 2003, is one of the most decorated coaches in the country. He led Persipura Jayapura to the 2005 league championship and followed with Sriwijaya FC in 2007.