We know Lebanese team's depth, says Indonesian manager
We know Lebanese team's depth, says Indonesian manager
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia will play Lebanon in a pre-Olympic U-23 soccer match
here on Saturday, with the hosts saying that they are aware of
their opponent's depth and have prepared their strategy
accordingly.
"We know their strength after watching their game in Jordan,"
Indonesian team manager Irawadi D. Hanafi said here on Friday.
"But we can't be too detailed in talking about their flaws or
what we are going to do in tomorrow's game, otherwise they would
know our plan," he said.
Although Irawadi did not elaborate on what the Indonesian
squad was preparing for the Lebanese, assistant coach Bambang
Nurdiansyah said the team would likely try to speed up the pace
of the match.
"Of course each team wants to win. I have to assume that they
are also coming in with a well-prepared strategy, but we must be
convinced that we are better prepared for the game," said
Irawadi, adding that his squad also needed the support of the
public.
Bambang said he wanted to see the team play like it did in a
recent warm-up game against a team comprised of foreigners
playing on clubs in Indonesia's domestic league.
"We want the players to repeat their performance against the
foreign players," Bambang said.
The Indonesian Olympic team, under head coach Mundari Karya,
demonstrated solid teamwork in beating the squad of foreign
players 4-2 last week.
"We are pleased with what they showed us in that match and
hope to see a similar display (against the Lebanese)," Bambang
said.
Meanwhile, Irawadi's Lebanese counterpart, Rashid Nassar, said
that although they did not know much about the Indonesian squad
his players were physically and mentally ready for the hosts.
"We are not going to play defensive (football). We have come
to win," he said.
The Indonesia-Lebanon fixture will be played over two legs,
with the second leg to be held in Beirut next month. The winner
will advance with 11 other teams to the finals, to be staged in
2004.
The match on Saturday will take place at the Bung Karno
Stadium in Jakarta at 7 p.m. Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
match commissioner Mohd. Noor Hj. Abdullah said the match was
allowed to take place because Indonesia had been declared safe
from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
The AFC has rescheduled three other matches for September:
Hong Kong-Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei-Singapore and Iraq-Vietnam.