Illustration of Zinedine Zidane. (AFP PHOTO/Javier Soriano)
… 18 international football legends, including Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Pavel Nedved, Edgar Davids, and Paolo Maldini… still waiting for the confirmation of three players, Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos, and Fabio Cannavaro… “Jakarta (ANTARA News) – International football legends will visit Indonesia to play against Indonesian football players in an exhibition game titled Battle of the Stars at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, on May 10.
The promoter of the event, Ophan Lamara, said on Thursday, 18 international football legends, including Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Pavel Nedved, Edgar Davids, and Paolo Maldini, grouped in the Elite Players Group (EPG), will face the Indonesia Stars, consisting of recent and former Indonesian top players.
“We are still waiting for the confirmation of three players, Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos, and Fabio Cannavaro,” Lamara said.
According to Lamara, Zidane was still occupied with Real Madrid, while Roberto Carlos was busy with his position as a World Cup Ambassador. Fabio Cannavaro was also busy as a coach of a football club in Qatar.
Other players who had confirmed they will participate in the exhibition match were Jens Lehnman, Marco Materazzi, Nakata, Francesco Toldo, Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack, Rigobert Song, Deco, Fernando Morientes, Gianluca Zambrotta, and Hernan Crespon.
“There were 25 prospective Indonesian players. However, only 18 will be chosen to play against the international players. They will be selected through SMS polling,” Lamara said.
A few of Indonesia’s top players and legends are Bambang Pamungkas, Cristian Gonzales, Ismed Sofyan, Hendro Kartiko, Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto, Bima Sakti, Budi Sudarsono, Kurnia Sandy, Bejo Sugiantoro and Rochy Putirai.
During the visit to Indonesia, the world’s football legends were also scheduled to give coaching and meet fans.
The promoter has limited the number of fans in the Meet and Greet session to 200. Lamara said the ticket to the Battle of the Stars will range from Rp100,000 to Rp2 million. The promoter expected about 40-50 thousand spectators at the stadium.
After the Battle of Stars, Indonesia will also host an exhibition match between the local football team Persija and Ajax Amsterdam, a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands, on May 11. On the same day, the Indonesian national team will face the ASEAN All Stars.
Reporter: Bayu KuncahyEditor: Ade P Marboen Copyright © ANTARA 2014
