JAKARTA GLOBE - Inter Milan Arrives to Warm Jakarta Welcome
With the stage set, Inter Milan is ready to entertain football fans in Jakarta.
The Italian giant arrived in the capital on Wednesday to a raucous welcome from hundreds of fans who had waited for them since early morning at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
“I was stunned when I saw lots of fans greeted us at the airport. That’s impressive,” Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni said. “We really appreciate that.”
It was no surprise to chief executive Ernesto Paolillo, though, who said there were 15 million “Interisti,” or Inter fans, in the country.
That, he said, led the club to add an Indonesian-language version of its official website last year. He also announced that Inter planned to set up football academies in Indonesia.
“We are planning to build several football schools here,” Paolillo said, without giving further details. “Indonesia is very important for us because the country has a lot of Inter Milan fans.”
Club captain Javier Zanetti said he hoped the fans’ enthusiasm would help him forget Inter’s unsuccessful season.
“It’s the first time I’ve been to this country and it’s a real honor,” the Argentine defender said. “Thank you for the warmth you’ve shown. It’s been a tough season, but we hope to make our fans happy, at least for the next few days.”
Inter finished sixth in Serie A in the recently completed season, falling short of the Champions League.
The 18-time league champion, shorn of its players who were called up by their countries for the 2012 European Championship, will hold a series of events in Jakarta. Inter faces an Indonesian Premier League selection tonight before hosting a coaching clinic on Friday and taking on the Indonesian national team on Saturday.
Both friendlies take place at Gelora Bung Karno. They will be broadcast by RCTI, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Organizers claim they have sold “tens of thousands” of tickets of the 120,000 seats on offer.
“I can’t give you the exact numbers, but we are pleased with the fans’ enthusiasm. Tens of thousands tickets have been sold and the number keeps moving up,” event manager Anjar Nugraha said.
Ticket prices range from Rp 75,000 to Rp 5 million ($8 to $540).
IPL selection coach Aji Santoso said his side, which includes the top local and foreign players in the officially sanctioned league, was up for the challenge.
“It will be historic for us because Inter is a great team with a long history,” said Aji, who is also the Under-23 national team head coach. “We’ll give them a good fight and try to score.”
Persebaya Surabaya forward Andik Vermansyah said he relished the chance of playing against Zanetti.
“It will be my second experience of playing against overseas club after the L.A. Galaxy. I can’t wait to play against Javier Zanetti. He’s my hero,” the diminutive striker said.
“I’ll play my best, and hopefully I can score against him.”
Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) national team supervisor Bernhard Limbong said he was not certain whether the senior national team would face Inter on Saturday.
The players are scheduled to return home from the Al-Nakba International Tournament, where they lost to host Palestine in the semifinals on Tuesday, early on Friday morning.
“We’ll probably send an Indonesian selection, including our best players from the senior, U-23 and U-21 national teams,” Limbong said. “The door is still open for top players in the ISL [Indonesian Super League] to be in that squad.”
-----
Well tonight will be the night, dreams be comin true :awwwyeah:
With the stage set, Inter Milan is ready to entertain football fans in Jakarta.
The Italian giant arrived in the capital on Wednesday to a raucous welcome from hundreds of fans who had waited for them since early morning at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
“I was stunned when I saw lots of fans greeted us at the airport. That’s impressive,” Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni said. “We really appreciate that.”
It was no surprise to chief executive Ernesto Paolillo, though, who said there were 15 million “Interisti,” or Inter fans, in the country.
That, he said, led the club to add an Indonesian-language version of its official website last year. He also announced that Inter planned to set up football academies in Indonesia.
“We are planning to build several football schools here,” Paolillo said, without giving further details. “Indonesia is very important for us because the country has a lot of Inter Milan fans.”
Club captain Javier Zanetti said he hoped the fans’ enthusiasm would help him forget Inter’s unsuccessful season.
“It’s the first time I’ve been to this country and it’s a real honor,” the Argentine defender said. “Thank you for the warmth you’ve shown. It’s been a tough season, but we hope to make our fans happy, at least for the next few days.”
Inter finished sixth in Serie A in the recently completed season, falling short of the Champions League.
The 18-time league champion, shorn of its players who were called up by their countries for the 2012 European Championship, will hold a series of events in Jakarta. Inter faces an Indonesian Premier League selection tonight before hosting a coaching clinic on Friday and taking on the Indonesian national team on Saturday.
Both friendlies take place at Gelora Bung Karno. They will be broadcast by RCTI, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Organizers claim they have sold “tens of thousands” of tickets of the 120,000 seats on offer.
“I can’t give you the exact numbers, but we are pleased with the fans’ enthusiasm. Tens of thousands tickets have been sold and the number keeps moving up,” event manager Anjar Nugraha said.
Ticket prices range from Rp 75,000 to Rp 5 million ($8 to $540).
IPL selection coach Aji Santoso said his side, which includes the top local and foreign players in the officially sanctioned league, was up for the challenge.
“It will be historic for us because Inter is a great team with a long history,” said Aji, who is also the Under-23 national team head coach. “We’ll give them a good fight and try to score.”
Persebaya Surabaya forward Andik Vermansyah said he relished the chance of playing against Zanetti.
“It will be my second experience of playing against overseas club after the L.A. Galaxy. I can’t wait to play against Javier Zanetti. He’s my hero,” the diminutive striker said.
“I’ll play my best, and hopefully I can score against him.”
Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) national team supervisor Bernhard Limbong said he was not certain whether the senior national team would face Inter on Saturday.
The players are scheduled to return home from the Al-Nakba International Tournament, where they lost to host Palestine in the semifinals on Tuesday, early on Friday morning.
“We’ll probably send an Indonesian selection, including our best players from the senior, U-23 and U-21 national teams,” Limbong said. “The door is still open for top players in the ISL [Indonesian Super League] to be in that squad.”
-----
Well tonight will be the night, dreams be comin true :awwwyeah:
