Persija embarks on 'mission impossible'

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian champion Persija will embark on its Asian Champions League tour of Japan with players and managers alike viewing the trip as more of an end of season holiday than a serious attempt to overcome their formidable Japanese opponents.

"We may consider this trip as a year-end gift for the players after winning the league," Ahmaddin Ahmad, the team manager, told The Jakarta Post here before watching the team's last warmup match on Saturday.

Persija, which won the domestic league this year, will meet Kashima Antlers, the 2000 J-League champion, in a one-off match on Oct. 24 instead of the regular home and away encounters.

The Japanese refused to travel to Indonesia, citing security concerns.

To compensate, Kashima will cover the travel fares, as well as board and lodging, for the 40-strong Jakarta-based team.

The unusually large number of team members might arouse suspicions that third parties were using the occasion to pick up some free travel.

Ahmaddin disclosed that the team comprised 23 players, three coaches, and 14 officials, three of whom were representatives of PSSI, the country's governing soccer body.

The team was scheduled to depart on Sunday. It has since been learned that two players, Khair Rifo and Hendra Nisar, will not be travelling with the team because of illness.

Ahmaddin apparently did not expect too much from the team's trip to Japan, though he said he hoped the team would put up a strong fight regardless of the result.

"Everyone says we hardly have a chance, but we will be looking to make the most of our opportunities. A draw would be incredible for us. A win would be a godsend," Ahmaddin said.

"If we were sure about winning, it (the change in venue) would be a negative for us. But given the opponent we're facing, we must now consider it an advantage that we will be playing away from home," he said, adding that Kashima was playing two levels above Persija.

Ahmaddin did not seem disappointed with the decision that had robbed Persija of home ground advantage, being well aware that playing before its own supporters on home turf would not make any difference.

"PSM lost 7-0 at its own stadium," Ahmaddin said, recalling the 2000 champion's match against South Korea's Samsung Suwon Blue Wings in the same competition early this year.

"Being realistic, just scoring would be quite an achievement for us," he said, while implying that the freezing weather would make matters even more difficult.

Sofyan Hadi, the team's coach, didn't protest against the venue change either. "It does not matter," he said.

But unlike Ahmaddin, Sofyan tried to be more hopeful about the competition, which seems to be a mere formality of the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) calendar.

"I'm not too bothered by the assumption that we are already in for a loss. I don't give it a thought," he said.

"Speaking about chances, we do have a chance. How realistic? What's the percentage? That I can't say as yet," he said.

Speaking further about tactical play, he said he would instruct his players to maintain their pace and hold their discipline, both in covering territory and their opponents.