Valderrama, Poyet pull out of benefit

Valderrama, Poyet pull out of benefit

JAKARTA: Former Colombian team captain Carlos Valderrama and Uruguay's Gustavo Poyet have pulled out of Tuesday's Aceh Tetap Sekolah (Aceh Stays in School) fund-raising game.

"At the last minute, Carlos Valderrama said he couldn't come. We received news from his agent that he had a club commitment that he could not miss, even though Carlos had already booked his plane ticket," said Laksmi Nurwandini, corporate communications officer for the game's organizer PT Exelcomindo Pratama.

Laksmi said on Sunday that Poyet also pulled out due to club commitments. "We don't have a contract with them, but they had said they would come. So, we have to be understanding if they cancel."

However, Laksmi said Brazilian Carlos Dunga was confirmed to play. The captain of the 1994 World Cup winning squad was scheduled to arrive on Monday along with Asian top players, including Fandi Ahmad of Singapore, Piyapong Pue On (Thailand) and Zainal Abidin Hassan (Malaysia).

Antonio de Oliveira "Careca" Filho of Brazil and Argentineans Luis Roberto Isles, Juan Barbas and Julio Olarticoechea arrived on Sunday.

The game will be played at 7 p.m. at Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta. -- Antara