AFF Suzuki Cup: Crowd won’t bring RI down

Go Indonesia!: An Indonesian supporter cheers the national soccer team at a training session in Bukit Jalil Stadium in Selangor, Malaysia, on Saturday. Some 15,000 tickets were sold for Indonesian soccer supporters for the first leg of the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup final between Indonesia and Malaysia on Sunday. Antara/Prasetyo Utomo

Indonesian soccer team head coach Alfred Riedl said Saturday his boys would be ready to take on host Malaysia at the first leg final match of the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup at Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

“We are confident for the first leg of the final at the Malaysian team’s home ground,” Riedl was quoted as saying by Antara news agency after a closed training session in the stadium.

The 61-year-old Austrian, who began coaching the Indonesian team in April, said his squad would not be intimidated by the home crowd.

“We will be on the pitch, while the supporters are in the seats. There won’t be any problems at all,” he said.

Riedl said all Indonesian players, who arrived in Kuala Lumpur Friday on a chartered plane, were in perfect condition for the match. He expected the team to play aggressive and be able to cope with the rival’s offense.

Indonesia reached the championship’s final — which will be aired live by RCTI at 6:30 p.m. Sunday — for the fourth time. Since Riedl took over the helm as the team’s head coach, Indonesia has shown convincing performances, including a 5-1 victory over Malaysia and 6-0 win over Laos in the group matches. Indonesia grabbed its ticket to the finals after ousting the Philippines in a 2-0 aggregate win.

Malaysia snatched its finals ticket after ousting defending champion Vietnam in a 2-0 aggregate victory. The team tied favorite Thailand 0-0 and crushed Laos 5-1.

Malaysian coach K. Rajagobal said he was fortunate to be in charge of a talented young squad that could make history by becoming the first Malaysian side to win the Cup.

“I definitely feel proud and honored that Malaysia has made it to the final for the first time in 14 years, not forgetting that the players have done their part to get us this far,” said Rajagobal, who also led Malaysia’s Under-23s to the SEA Games gold medal last December, as quoted by the event’s official website, www.affsuzukicup.com.

“We are in the final and it’s a whole different ball game. The first match is gone and we now stand a chance of winning the tournament, even though we consider Indonesia the favorite,” he added.