FANS RALLY IN JAKARTA OVER LACK OF SUZUKI CUP 2ND LEG TICKETS
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 26 Dec 2010
Thousands of football fans who were unable to buy tickets for the second leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup Finals between Indonesia and Malaysia on December 29 have staged a rally in front of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) headquarters in Jakarta.
The Jakarta Post reported that the rally was fueled by disappointment because category I tickets, priced at around US$22.20 or a little less than P1,000 were said to have been sold out.
The crowd which had gathered since 2:00 p.m. chanted a demand for PSSI head Nurdin Halid to step down.
The Post reported that fans who wanted to buy tickets were given numbered cards for their positions in the ticket booth line and were upset when they learned that the tickets had been sold out despite having been issued card and having waited in line for hours.
Meantime top Indonesian striker Cristian ?El Loco? Gonzales, the naturalized Uruguayan who scored one goal in each of the semi final matches against the Philippines to oust the gallant Azkals reportedly injured himself during a training session.
The Jakarta Post quoted Indonesian coach Alfred Rield who said Gonzales suffered from a groin injury but he was optimistic that the 34 year old striker would be able to play in the first leg showdown against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. Kompas.com reported that Gonzales trained separately with a physiotherapist on Thursday even as skipper Firman Utoma and speedy winger Maniano were recovering from injuries.
Rield said ?Firman and Okto are getting better but Okto could not sprint for too long.?
The Malaysian team said they hope to get off to a flyer in the first leg against Indonesia at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur by winning 3-0.
The vice chairman of the Football Association of Malaysia Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said ?I predict we will win 3-0 here.? He said such a score would increase chances of a Malaysian victory in the second leg with the team in high spirits.
The vice chairman noted that winning the Suzuki Cup for the first time would be ?a turning point in the rise of and quality of soccer in Malaysia.?
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