Photo: Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Thailand coach Alexandre Polking (pic) may not be a fan of Mandopop star Jay Chou.
But if his team steal a win tonight in their AFF Mitsubishi Cup first-leg semi-final game against Malaysia at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil tonight, he could thank the singer in a way.
Chou’s concert here on Jan 15 is the reason why there will only be up to 59,000 fans at the stadium.
Only that number of tickets could be sold as the other 21,000 seats will be obstructed by Chou’s concert stage structure, which is in the process of being installed.
Polking, known as Mano in Thailand, could not help talking about the concert that has prevented a capacity crowd from being present at the stadium tonight.
“We are lucky that the concert has helped to reduce the number of the home crowd. It makes us happy,” he chuckled during a press conference.
“But whatever the capacity, we know how the Malaysian crowd is. They are passionate and will still make it loud to intimidate us. So we have to be mentally strong.”
Polking added that Malaysia will be a major threat, given their fighting displays in the group stage.
“I’m impressed with what Kim (Pan-gon) has done with the Malaysian team. The players now have a strong identity and they’re all fighters.
“A semi-final is a different ball game. You need mental strength, a good strategy and calm heads to win it.’’
He said the 1-1 draw with Indonesia in their Group A match on Dec 29 was the turning point as it had made the players stronger.
“We had a player down due to a red card but we still held them in their own den. If we win this tournament, it is that game that has inspired us to go all the way.”
