| Full Name: |
Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto |
| Nickname: |
Ade, Kurus |
| Place of Birth: |
Magelang, Central Java |
| Date of Birth: |
July 13, 1976 |
| Height: |
173 cm |
| Weight: |
65 kg |
| Position: |
Striker |
| Clubs: |
PSM Makassar (1999-...) |
|
Pelita Jaya (1997-1999) |
| Luzern - Switzerland (1995-1997) |
Article from sepakbola.com
and additional information collected by SENAYAN
The career of this star striker
was almost over last year when he was hit by drug addiction. It forced
him to attend marathon programs at Drug Rehabilitation Center at Sports
Campus Wijaya Kusuma during the summer of 2000.
But this player, who is the husband
of actress Kartika Dewi whom he married on November 5, 2000, never gave
up. He proved again to the football fans that he still existed, being
one of the top scorers last season, LI VI, just one goal shy from the
top scorer Bambang's 24 goals. He is also the best striker of PSM Makassar,
the champions of last season.
Because of that achievement, he
also made the national team head coach, Nandar Iskandar, to notice him
again. He was then called up to the national squad for 2000 Asian Cup
in Lebanon and became the ace striker of the team, a role that he left
for some time.
Although there are a lot of concerns
and criticisms over his return to the national team squad because of
his involvement with illegal drugs, there are quite a few people who
feel sympathetic for him.
One of them is Ronny Pattinasarani,
a former national player in the '70s and one of the best players the
country ever produced. He said that tha public shouldn't judge him for
what he was because he's truly a national asset.
"We have to be objective and
to admit that he is still one of the best strikers we have and his performance
is still very sharp, and he deserved to be a strong contender for the
league's player of the year," said Ronny.
Ade's -- Ade is his nickname --
most outstanding skills are his incredible pace and his superb dribbling.
This enables him to get over one or two defenders by himself before
putting the ball in the net. Besides that, he has deep understanding
of off-the-ball movements and this gives him many chances to create
havoc in the opponent's defense.
Before joining PSM Makassar, he
played in some other local clubs, and most importantly, he has the experience
of having played in Europe. He played for FC Luzern in Switzerland's
first division for about two years before coming back to Indonesia.
Before that, he was playing in the
Primavera (Junior U-18 Italian League) with Indonesian team for about
2 years. During that time, he was the top scorer in the league and competing
head-to-toe for the title with, guess who, Alessandro del Piero!
All the scouts at that time recognized
him as a player of amazing potential. He was about to be signed by Sampdoria,
but somehow, the deal didn't go through.
Football analysts in Indonesia agree
that ever since coming back to play in Indonesia, Kurniawan never achieved
the same level of playing like he did when he was still in Europe. Not
until last year, when his performance throughout the season was excellent
and a reminiscent of what he was five years ago.
Excellent article and more pictures
from AFC Website here
picture from: BolaNews
Sportsline
data from Ligina
