Legends turn back clock in benefit game

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thoughts of winning took second place to a good cause as international soccer legends faced the Indonesia All Stars in the Aceh Tetap Sekolah (Aceh Stay in School) tsunami charity match on Tuesday night.

Still, there was pride on the line, and the veteran visitors triumphed 4-3 in an entertaining game in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

Thicker around the middle, thinner on top and not as fast on their feet as during their playing days, the former stars turned back the clock with flashes of brilliance of yesteryear.

Although Bolivian Mariano Etcheverry opened the scoring in the 16th minute, former Liverpool midfielder Mark Walters was the architect of the victory. The 42 year old scored a hat trick in the 20th, 54th and 74th minutes.

The Indonesia All Stars -- a mix of both current and former players from Indonesia and the region -- trailed 0-2 before national player Syamsul Bahri clawed one back in the 33rd minute. Goals by Thailand's Piyapong Pue On (60) and Widodo C Putra (70) were not enough to stave off the legends' win.

Both teams said helping Aceh was their most important concern, and several players plan to visit the province.

"It doesn't matter who wins the match as we are focused on donating to Acehnese children to relieve their difficulties," Carlos Dunga, captain of Brazil's 1994 World Cup winning team, said at a gala dinner on Monday night.

Unfortunately, the turnout was sparse despite the presence of Dunga, 42, compatriot Antonio de Oliveira "Careca" Filho, 45, and Dutchman Richard Witschge, 36, for the legends, as well as Liga Mandiri 2005 top scorer Ilham Jayakesuma and Singapore's Fandi Ahmad on the Indonesia All Stars.

Organizer PT Excelcomindo said on Monday it had sold about 12,000 tickets -- priced from Rp 10,000 (about US$1.10) to Rp 300,000 -- for the 110,000-capacity stadium.

However, an auction of player memorabilia at the gala dinner raised $40,400 toward the target of Rp 2 billion, with an Argentinean practice shirt fetching $2,800.