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Taken from www.jamaicaobserver.com
Reggae Boyz kick off Asian tour
... tackle Indonesia in first match of four-nation stint
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Jakarta, Indonesia - Technical director Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic will be presented with a grand opportunity to test the mental fortitude of his players when they kick off their four-nation Asian tour at 7:00 pm (7:00 am Jamaica time) today against Indonesia under less than ideal conditions.
The game will be played at the Gelora Bung Karno Senayan Stadium, which is reported to have a capacity of 110,000, though only about 20,000 to 30,000 spectators are expected to witness today's encounter.
Arriving here just shy of 24 hours before kick-off after a gruelling 40-hour journey from Kingston, which tallies more than 14,000 miles and included stopovers at Montego Bay, Los Angeles, USA, Taipei in Taiwan and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, the Reggae Boyz will also go into the game against the 143rd-ranked side without a serious training session since their 1-0 defeat against Chile earlier this month.
The Jamaicans are also hampered by the absence of two players - ace striker Fabian Taylor of Harbour View and Seba United midfielder Keneil Moodie - who had to return home from Los Angeles after the delegation was advised by the Malaysian Airlines staff that they would not be allowed entry to Malaysia as their passports were under six months to the expiration dates.
The players, along with team manager Michael Blair, remained in Los Angeles in the hope of getting their documents sorted out at the Jamaican Consulate in that state.
However, upon being informed that their situation could not be adequately dealt with from California, the players were sent back home with a view to getting their travel documents renewed expeditiously in order to rejoin the squad.
Blair is expected to rejoin the group today.
Taylor's absence could have a severe impact on the team as he was just one of two genuine strikers in the 20-man squad. The other is St George's Donovan Davis.
"The original plan was to have the team get here at least 48 hours before game time," Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Crenston Boxhill told the Observer yesterday.
"However, flight arrangements did not allow for travel of the 28-man party any earlier. The leg from the US to here proved particularly difficult and our agent even tried to re-route us through Europe, but again the number of seats did not allow for that," Boxhill added.
Bora had originally planned a light workout at the match venue last evening, but thought better of it and rescheduled for this morning.
"All they'll do is just a little stretching, run a little and play a little," he said, before adding, "This is a great opportunity to find out which players are mentally strong.
"If you are mentally strong, then that is good, but if you are not, nobody can help you. You get a chance to represent your country, you should give it your all regardless of the conditions. I will see which players are ready or not."
Added Bora: "We need to play with discipline, good positioning, just like we did against Chile. This is the price you pay to see these countries so far away, to gain more experience to play in different countries under different conditions."
"We are lucky to have the chance to come here and play four games," Bora told the Observer, and his skipper Donald Stewart, though fatigued like his teammates, is prepared to charge his players to prove their mental toughness in facing the challenges head on.
"This is how it's set up," Stewart said. "We can't do anything about it now, so we'll just have to focus and give of our best."
Bora argued that this will be a very important game for Indonesia, one of the four hosts of the Asian Cup, set to run from July 7-29, as they continue their preparation for the event.
The other host venues are Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. Indonesia are in Group D alongside South Korea, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
The hosts, who hail from the world's fourth largest population of approximately 240 million, lost arguably their best striker, Boaz Sollosa, to a broken leg during a 3-0 friendly international win against Hong Kong on May 23. They then lost to Singapore 1-0 earlier this month.
The all local-based squad has been in training for the past two months and will be captained by midfielder Ponaryo Astaman. They continue their preparation with friendlies against Oman on Sunday and against Liberia on June 30.
Bora, Boxhill and Blair apart, the other team officials are Orville Powell, head of delegation; Donovan Duckies, assistant coach; Dr Mark Sanderson, team doctor; and Pablo Camargo, masseur.
Jamaica squad:,/B>
Goalkeepers: Allien Whittaker, Richard McCallum, Dwayne Miller. Defenders: Christopher Harvey, Jermaine Taylor, Adrian Reid, Xavian Virgo, Demar Phillips, Mario Swaby, Lovell Palmer, Rudolph Austin. Midfielders/strikers: Richard Edwards, Donald Stewart, Nicholy Finlayson, Mario Harrison, Donovan Davis, Wolry Wolfe, Fabian Davis.
Reggae Boyz kick off Asian tour
... tackle Indonesia in first match of four-nation stint
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Jakarta, Indonesia - Technical director Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic will be presented with a grand opportunity to test the mental fortitude of his players when they kick off their four-nation Asian tour at 7:00 pm (7:00 am Jamaica time) today against Indonesia under less than ideal conditions.
The game will be played at the Gelora Bung Karno Senayan Stadium, which is reported to have a capacity of 110,000, though only about 20,000 to 30,000 spectators are expected to witness today's encounter.
Arriving here just shy of 24 hours before kick-off after a gruelling 40-hour journey from Kingston, which tallies more than 14,000 miles and included stopovers at Montego Bay, Los Angeles, USA, Taipei in Taiwan and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, the Reggae Boyz will also go into the game against the 143rd-ranked side without a serious training session since their 1-0 defeat against Chile earlier this month.
The Jamaicans are also hampered by the absence of two players - ace striker Fabian Taylor of Harbour View and Seba United midfielder Keneil Moodie - who had to return home from Los Angeles after the delegation was advised by the Malaysian Airlines staff that they would not be allowed entry to Malaysia as their passports were under six months to the expiration dates.
The players, along with team manager Michael Blair, remained in Los Angeles in the hope of getting their documents sorted out at the Jamaican Consulate in that state.
However, upon being informed that their situation could not be adequately dealt with from California, the players were sent back home with a view to getting their travel documents renewed expeditiously in order to rejoin the squad.
Blair is expected to rejoin the group today.
Taylor's absence could have a severe impact on the team as he was just one of two genuine strikers in the 20-man squad. The other is St George's Donovan Davis.
"The original plan was to have the team get here at least 48 hours before game time," Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Crenston Boxhill told the Observer yesterday.
"However, flight arrangements did not allow for travel of the 28-man party any earlier. The leg from the US to here proved particularly difficult and our agent even tried to re-route us through Europe, but again the number of seats did not allow for that," Boxhill added.
Bora had originally planned a light workout at the match venue last evening, but thought better of it and rescheduled for this morning.
"All they'll do is just a little stretching, run a little and play a little," he said, before adding, "This is a great opportunity to find out which players are mentally strong.
"If you are mentally strong, then that is good, but if you are not, nobody can help you. You get a chance to represent your country, you should give it your all regardless of the conditions. I will see which players are ready or not."
Added Bora: "We need to play with discipline, good positioning, just like we did against Chile. This is the price you pay to see these countries so far away, to gain more experience to play in different countries under different conditions."
"We are lucky to have the chance to come here and play four games," Bora told the Observer, and his skipper Donald Stewart, though fatigued like his teammates, is prepared to charge his players to prove their mental toughness in facing the challenges head on.
"This is how it's set up," Stewart said. "We can't do anything about it now, so we'll just have to focus and give of our best."
Bora argued that this will be a very important game for Indonesia, one of the four hosts of the Asian Cup, set to run from July 7-29, as they continue their preparation for the event.
The other host venues are Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. Indonesia are in Group D alongside South Korea, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
The hosts, who hail from the world's fourth largest population of approximately 240 million, lost arguably their best striker, Boaz Sollosa, to a broken leg during a 3-0 friendly international win against Hong Kong on May 23. They then lost to Singapore 1-0 earlier this month.
The all local-based squad has been in training for the past two months and will be captained by midfielder Ponaryo Astaman. They continue their preparation with friendlies against Oman on Sunday and against Liberia on June 30.
Bora, Boxhill and Blair apart, the other team officials are Orville Powell, head of delegation; Donovan Duckies, assistant coach; Dr Mark Sanderson, team doctor; and Pablo Camargo, masseur.
Jamaica squad:,/B>
Goalkeepers: Allien Whittaker, Richard McCallum, Dwayne Miller. Defenders: Christopher Harvey, Jermaine Taylor, Adrian Reid, Xavian Virgo, Demar Phillips, Mario Swaby, Lovell Palmer, Rudolph Austin. Midfielders/strikers: Richard Edwards, Donald Stewart, Nicholy Finlayson, Mario Harrison, Donovan Davis, Wolry Wolfe, Fabian Davis.
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