Fatigue is the main concern for the national coaches of South Korea and Japan as they prepare for the play-off for third place at the Asian Cup 2007 at the Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium on Saturday.
The usually low-key match has been given some added importance following the AFC's decision to award the winner of the game an automatic berth in the 2011 Asian Cup, but both sides will have to overcome exhaustion ahead of the game in southern Sumatra.
The two teams had to travel from their semi-final venues in Kuala Lumpur and Hanoi to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta before moving on to Palembang.
The Koreans arrived on Friday morning but coach Pim Verbeek is wary about their fitness having already seen them play two gruelling 120 minute games in the past six days.
"The players are not 100% recovered. However they had good training on a good field, which is a positive thing," said the Dutchman, whose side failed to reach the final after a 4-3 penalty shootout loss to Iraq in Kuala Lumpur in Wednesday.
"There are no books to show you how to handle two extra time matches in only four days.
"However, we know our players very well and we know how to deal with this situation and we will try to make them ready by tomorrow.
"Yesterday was a tough day," he added. "Today they were better and there is always a possibility to use the other players as we will try to use the strongest and fittest selection for tomorrow.
"The match tomorrow is not a test and we will use the players who are ready to play the game," he said.
Japan played only 90 minutes in their 3-2 defeat against Saudi Arabia but their long and exhausting journey from Hanoi to Palembang, via Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, saw them arrive in Sumatra late on Friday night before a training session which finished just before midnight.
Coach Ivica Osim was a clearly frustrated figure when he spoke to the media afterwards.
"It is a clear fact that the players are tired and this is a big problem for us," said the former Yugoslavia coach.
"The question should be is whether I should use the tired players or not because we will have to wait and see before we use them.
"Despite the fact that they are tired, the players are highly motivated and although they are tired, they lie about this and this is a big problem for us. We will be at a disadvantage tomorrow as our handicap will be fatigue," he added
"I don't know exactly the significance of the game between Korea and Japan, but what I know is that Korea will be motivated against us and they will give us a lot of problems especially as they know our team very well."
The two teams had to travel from their semi-final venues in Kuala Lumpur and Hanoi to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta before moving on to Palembang.
The Koreans arrived on Friday morning but coach Pim Verbeek is wary about their fitness having already seen them play two gruelling 120 minute games in the past six days.
"The players are not 100% recovered. However they had good training on a good field, which is a positive thing," said the Dutchman, whose side failed to reach the final after a 4-3 penalty shootout loss to Iraq in Kuala Lumpur in Wednesday.
"There are no books to show you how to handle two extra time matches in only four days.
"However, we know our players very well and we know how to deal with this situation and we will try to make them ready by tomorrow.
"Yesterday was a tough day," he added. "Today they were better and there is always a possibility to use the other players as we will try to use the strongest and fittest selection for tomorrow.
"The match tomorrow is not a test and we will use the players who are ready to play the game," he said.
Japan played only 90 minutes in their 3-2 defeat against Saudi Arabia but their long and exhausting journey from Hanoi to Palembang, via Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, saw them arrive in Sumatra late on Friday night before a training session which finished just before midnight.
Coach Ivica Osim was a clearly frustrated figure when he spoke to the media afterwards.
"It is a clear fact that the players are tired and this is a big problem for us," said the former Yugoslavia coach.
"The question should be is whether I should use the tired players or not because we will have to wait and see before we use them.
"Despite the fact that they are tired, the players are highly motivated and although they are tired, they lie about this and this is a big problem for us. We will be at a disadvantage tomorrow as our handicap will be fatigue," he added
"I don't know exactly the significance of the game between Korea and Japan, but what I know is that Korea will be motivated against us and they will give us a lot of problems especially as they know our team very well."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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