Organisers bring down veil of secrecy for Grampus Eight
A veil of secrecy will shroud Grampus Eight's stay in the territory next week when the Japanese J.League club meet South China in their second leg, quarter-final clash for the Asian Cup Winners' Cup at the Hong Kong Stadium.
Only media and team officials will be admitted to the visitors' training sessions or know their itinerary in the hope of avoiding problems which may arise from tensions over the disputed Diaoyu Islands.
Hong Kong Stadium officials are expecting a crowd of around 30,000 for Tuesday night's game and every precaution will be taken to prevent any incident between fans and political activists who might want to protest over the islands.
Up to 300 security personnel will be deployed for the potentially explosive match. Japanese fans will be segregated from local spectators and political banners will be confiscated inside and outside the stadium.
South China official Peter Leung said: 'We want to prevent any potential problems with the Japanese team's visit. Their training will be held behind closed doors with only the media and soccer officials allowed in. Their stay will remain a secret, only those concerned with the match will know the details. Outsiders will not be allowed to attend their training session or know where they are staying.' South China lost the first-leg tie 2-0 in Nagoya last Wednesday.
The Caroliners will rest striker Dale Tempest for the return leg.
The 32-year-old prolific goal-scorer withdrew midway through last Wednesday's match because of a toe injury sustained in training the previous day. The injury became infected, but a shot of antibiotics has put Tempest back on the road to recovery.
South China coach Wong Man-wai said he will not rule out the possibility of replacing Dutch goalkeeper Werner Kooistra with a local 'keeper and starting a foreign player in midfield to add more bite to the Caroliners' attack.
'We might field Pedro Xavier to strengthen our attack, but we haven't decided yet,' said Wong.
