Skipping Breakfast

a Life-Saving Decision for All-Star Squad

The team picked to play Manchester United on Monday woke up at Jakarta’s JW Marriott Hotel at 6 a.m. and assembled in the lobby before departing for a morning training session at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

It was to be an extremely important training session because, just three days later, they were to face one of the best teams in the game.

But the team’s management decided the players should skip breakfast at the hotel and instead took them to the Sultan Hotel, which is closer to the stadium, at 6:30 a.m.

Just after the training session ended, they heard the news that bomb blasts had hit the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, where the Manchester United squad was scheduled to stay during its Jakarta tour.

“We left the hotel around 6:30 a.m. for Senayan, so we were all safe and in good condition,” assistant coach Sudirman said in a telephone interview. “We didn’t know about the incident and I just heard this from [the Jakarta Globe].”

National team striker Budi Sudarsono said he was shocked but glad they decided to leave for training earlier.

The blasts at the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton, located next to each other in the Mega Kuningan business district in the capital, blew out windows and scattered debris and glass across the street, kicking up a thick plume of smoke. The facades of both hotels were reduced to twisted metal.

Nine people were reported dead, with more than 50 others injured. “Thank God, we already left the hotel. Now, we’re staying at the Sultan Hotel but our belongings are still at the Marriott,” Budi said.

The incident prompted the England Premier League champion, which arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, to cancel its Jakarta stop.

The Indonesian players understood the decision but still regretted it. “The game is a one-in-a-million chance, playing against the world’s best players,” defender Isnan Ali said. “I clearly understand why they made the decision, but I don’t know if I will ever have the chance to play against them again in my career.”

The squad will temporarily remain at the Sultan Hotel. Wimbo Satwiko & Sandy Pramuji