HISTORIC SOLO BEAR WTNESS TO THE STARS OF TOMORROW

And the Indonesia FA could not have chosen a better venue than Solo considering their place as the heartland of Java and also situated near the hometown of former Indonesian president Suharto.

It will be a city of culture and history bearing witness to the stars of tomorrow as China open their campaign against Vietnam in the first match while hosts Indonesia entertain Timor Leste in the second game.

The Chinese who endured a 40-hour travelling time from Beijing including five transfers have been in preparation since the past week and will be looking to tweak the team for the AFC U16 meet which will be held at the end of October.

“We will put the state of our preparation at 60% to 70%. The result here is not important. What we want is for the players to express themselves and shows how well prepared are they for the AFC meet in Uzbekistan,” said Zhang Ning, the chief coach of China.

Vietnam, who have been hard at work at their new training centre in Hanoi, will be out to make sure that all their effort will not be in vain as they look to break the Chinese wall.

“China is a strong team, a big team but we will try our best to showcase what the future of Vietnam football can do. We are here to prepare for Uzbekistan but I think that we are very well prepared for the championship here. There will be a lot of good football,” added Luu Quang Dien Bien, the team manager of Vietnam.

For Timor Leste who qualified for the Uzbekistan meet for the first time ever, they will be out to show their brand of the beautiful game in a match which will be full of drama and emotions.

“Playing against Indonesia will always be emotional for us considering the close historic link between the two countries. But we would like to show the fans our football philosophy which is similar to the Samba, full of short passes. The important thing is to play like Brazil but not to lose like Portugal,” quipped Nelyo Isaac, the team manager of Timor Leste.

Hosts Indonesia, who have been preparing for the last two months for the meet in Solo and also for the one in Uzbekistan, will be out to show that the 13 friendly matches they have played will bear fruit.

“As the hosts, there are expectations and I think we are 80% prepared for Uzbekistan. There’s a good feeling about this team and I hope that we can get the result that we want. The important thing is not to be a disappointment to the expectations of the people,” added Mundari Karya, the chief coach of Indonesia.

With a capacity of more than 30,000 at the Manahan Stadium alongside several quality training pitches, the Asian stars of tomorrow have been given all the necessary facilities to express themselves in a competition which would go a long way to prepare them for the road ahead.

Off pitch, teams and officials have been placed at two fine hotels where tonight, they will be entertained by the Mayor of Solo himself, Joko Widodo in the official welcome dinner at his residence.

FIXTURES and RESULTS

20 Sept: China vs Vietnam (1530hrs)/ Indonesia vs Timor Leste (1800hrs)

22 Sept: Timor Leste vs China (1530hrs)/ Vietnam vs Indonesia (1800hrs)

24 Sept: Vietnam vs Timor Leste (1530hrs)/ Indonesia vs China (1800hrs)

26 Sept: 3rd placing vs 4th placing (1530hrs)/ Winner vs Runner-up (1800hrs)