AFF Preparation, U-16 National Team Holds Exercise At The Slope Of Mount Merapi

The coach of the U-16 Indonesian football national team, Nova Arianto, answered reporters' questions. BETWEEN/Donny Aditra

JAKARTA - The U-16 Indonesian football national team (Timnas) began practicing tactics on the slopes of Mount Merapi, Yogyakarta, in preparation for the U-16 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup, from June 21 to July 4, 2024 in Indonesia, to be precise in Solo and Surabaya. Head of National Team Coach U-16 Nova Arianto said the team's preparation conditions were good and had started since April 18. "We will go into tactical preparations. There are 34 players including diaspora abroad," Nova said in Jakarta, quoted from ANTARA, Sunday, May 12. He revealed that at the beginning of the exercise, his team was still focused on training for fundamental physical conditions, such as increasing muscle mass, lowering fat and raising VO2Max (cardirespiratory fitness) players. Even though he could not monitor directly at that time, because he had to accompany the Head of Senior and U-23 National Team Coach, Shin Tae-yong in the U-23 Asian Cup, Nova admitted that he continued to follow the development of the Garuda Muda squad training from videos sent by the coaching staff. "I see the progress is quite good, that's what I saw from the videos of the coaching team sent to me," he said.

He further explained that the motivation of the players was very high to participate in the tournament, because he was the defending champion and also the host. The fact makes the players' confidence increase, because it will appear in front of its own supporters.

Nova Arianto's squad participated in the AFF U-16 Cup as the defending champion, for being the winner in the 2022 edition, by beating Vietnam in the top match. At that time, the squad that was still trained by Bima Sakti Tukiman, defeated Vietnam with a score of 1-0.