We will bury Persija's dream, says PSM<\/p>\n
Musthofid
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Reigning champion PSM Makassar has thrown down the gauntlet
\nfor Sunday's soccer final at the Bung Karno Stadium, with its
\nmanager saying it would deny Persija of its quest to snap its 26-
\nyear title drought.<\/p>\n
"We will bury their dreams," Kadir Halid said, rising from his
\nseat, his eyes directed toward a group of reporters then across
\nto the Persija officials.<\/p>\n
His bullish stance took by surprise those present at the press
\nconference at the headquarters of the Indonesian Soccer
\nAssociation (PSSI), given that previously both teams had been
\nquite reserved in assessing their respective chances.<\/p>\n
But Kadir cut short the tense atmosphere. Instead, he suddenly
\nmade a compromise gesture.<\/p>\n
"The two teams are evenly balanced in term of skills and
\nteamwork. What will be decisive in the match, I guess, will be
\nhow tough their mental shape is," he said.<\/p>\n
Both teams last met in the final eight round-robin stage in
\nMakassar last week, the match won by Persija 1-0.<\/p>\n
Coach Syamsudin Umar fended off questions that he probably
\nfeared might have led to an exposure of team tactics. Again he
\nopted for generalized soccer rhetoric, when asked about his plans
\nfor the match.<\/p>\n
"Speaking about who will come out as the winner is
\nindispensable to the field of professionalism. To be a
\nprofessional the player must possess skills, competitiveness and
\nattitude," he said.<\/p>\n
Sunday's final will kick off at 4 p.m. and the police will be
\nlooking to impose tighter security measures, with President
\nMegawati confirmed to join the spectacle.<\/p>\n
After 26 years in championship drought since it last won the
\n1975 season, Persija says this is an opportunity it cannot afford
\nto miss.<\/p>\n
"This is the moment we have been dreaming of for years," said
\nIsman Jasulmei, who deputized for head coach Sofyan Hadi at the
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
Both teams said that they had no problems with injuries and
\nwere well-prepared for the battle. They had warmup sessions at
\nthe PSSI training ground on Saturday, with PSM in the morning and
\nPersija in the afternoon.<\/p>\n
The organizers, who will sell around 60,000 tickets, will
\nprovide Rp 75 million in prize money for the winner, with the
\nrunner-up receiving Rp 50 million.<\/p>\n
Cash prizes are also available for top scorer, best player,
\nand the team that consistently upholds fair play.<\/p>\n
While the identity of the best player will not be known until
\nafter Sunday's match, the top scorer's prize of Rp 15 million is
\nvirtually a certainty for Bako Sadisou.<\/p>\n
Barito Putra's Cameroonian tops the scoring list, with 22
\ngoals, which is far more than closest rival Budi Sudarsono of
\nPersija who has netted 17. Although the latter still has a chance
\nof adding to his collection when he puts on his boots -- should
\nhe be fielded -- for Persija in Sunday's match, the five-goal gap
\nmust surely be too wide for him to overtake.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/we-will-bury-persijas-dream-says-psm-1447893297",
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