Despite lacking in preparation, with only two warm-up matches, the Indonesia All-Star squad is enthusiastic about its next game, against English champion Manchester United, the team's coach said Wednesday.
"The players are currently in high spirits for the Man. U. game," coach Benny Selvianus Dollo told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta.
"We hope they will be a match for the visitors."
The friendly will be played Monday at Bung Karno Stadium in Central Jakarta. The Indonesian stopover is part of the Red Devils' Asian tour, which also includes China, South Korea and Malaysia.
"It will be a great experience to be in the team playing against Man. U.," said Fery Rotinsulu, the Sriwijaya FC goalkeeper.
"Not everyone gets to do this, so we'll do our best for our country."
Next week's game will be only the second visit to Indonesia by a Manchester United team. The 1975 match ended in a goalless draw.
When asked about the squad's chance of scoring against Sir Alex Ferguson's squad, Benny, who has the task of polishing the national team for the 2011 Asian Cup pre-qualification championship, said, "It's possible; the ball is round."
After taking on a relatively minor team in their first game, the All-Star team faced the African Selection All-Stars, made up of African players in the Indonesian Super League.
Boaz Salossa scored two goals and Bambang Pamungkas contributed one in the team's 3-0 win.
Benny said there would be no more warm-up games.
"We'll just have regular exercises in the morning and afternoon to hone the team's strategy," he said.
He added he had prepared a counterattack strategy under the playing format of 4-2-3-1, or a possible 3-5-2 scheme.
The Indonesian All-Stars members, comprising 21 players, have been formed based on text message polling conducted between April and July, and will be officially announced Thursday.
Boaz and Bambang look likely to top the poll. Others include Budi Sudarsono, Eka Ramdani, Syamsul Chaerudin, Ponaryo Astaman, Charis Yulianto, Maman Abdurahman, Isnan Ali, Ricardo Salampessy and Fery Rotinsulu.
Benny said there would be no changes in the lineup.
The 96-strong entourage will arrive at Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport on Saturday night for the four-day visit.
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