The Manchester United Club was planning to go on a summer trip to Indonesia. But the danger of suicide bombings caused the English team not to choose Indonesia.
Indonesia had quite a bit of preparation for this match when the All Stars team was formed. The names of Indonesian football then included Boaz Salossa, Bambang Pamungkas or Firman Utina.
According to the original plan, Man United faced the All Indonesian Stars squad at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. The MU are expected to arrive in Indonesia the day before the match is held.
An explosion rocked two major hotels in the Mega Kuningan business district, JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton. The bomb blast, led by Noordin Mohammad Top, left 9 dead and over 50 injured.
When this incident happened, Manchester United had just landed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. MU immediately held a press conference. In the end, Man United canceled the tour to Indonesia to ensure the safety of all team members.
“We also know that the Indonesian Football Federation is working very hard to prepare for this match. This is a terrible information and I believe the decision to cancel the tour is a right decision in defense my players.” That was said by Ferguson.
The shocking terrorist incident prevented Indonesian fans from witnessing one of the best teams in the world at the time. 4 years after the heartbreaking incident, Indonesia has the opportunity to host 3 clubs from the English Premier League: Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea.
The three teams in turn play friendly against the Indonesian star team in the Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta. Two goals were scored by Philippe Coutinho in the 10th minute and Raheem Sterling in the 88th minute.
These goals helped Chelsea win with a score of 8-1. Liverpool also won gently with a score of 2-0.
