Persija sets out on 'mission impossible'

Persija sets out 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.