Hekari’s big test

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HEKARI United have been challenged to use the Club World Cup next week to step to the next level.
Major sponsor MRDC managing director Augustine Mano believed that Hekari players had the mental toughness to make the leap to the next level filled with superstars.
He made this comment while farewelling the Hekari at parliament house last Thursday night.
Part of Hekari will leave this afternoon while rest leaves tomorrow for Abu Dhabi.
Mano said his organisation turned to support soccer because of the high discipline and commitment displayed by Hekari players.
“I have been following the team around the Pacific in Solomon Islands and Fiji, and found the players to be well disciplined and they have the fighting spirit on the field,” he said.
“It may take some years to become what I am now as managing director but for soccer, it takes a freak moment to turn things around for the club and for the region, in particular, football in PNG,” he said.
“It will just take a moment to transform football in this country, and I am optimistic that Hekari can do it for football for PNG and the region,” he said.
The MRDC boss challenged the boys to believe in themselves and play hard on the football pitch.
“We are the best team in Oceania. With our brothers from Solomon Islands and Fiji, we  are ready to make a name for ourselves in the region and the world,” he said.
Franchise owner John Kapi Natto is confident that Hekari players will give their best they take the field.
“It will be the ultimate show of their lives, and the players will rub shoulders with superstars during the tournament,” he said.
He singled out the leadership of David Muta as a important aspect in the coming tournament for Hekari.
Muta, the midfield linchpin, is widely regarded as a key player, and which coach Jerry Allen  described as  “an important influence on and off the field”.
It was that ability to control matches and lead by example that, in November, 2008, earned the 23-year-old a place in an Oceania All-Stars team which faced US glamour team, Los Angeles Galaxy.
Muta said the  All Stars game was a real eye-opener.
 “Playing against David Beckham was a special experience – he was very good to observe. Every time he received the ball, he used one touch to see a pass contribute in a  play. His distribution was always very quick and of high quality. As a person, he also was very humble – he talked to me on the field and afterwards, and offered me a lot of encouragement.
Muta will be counting on his Solomon Island and Fijian players to ensure PNG advance into second round.
Furthermore, while dreams of facing world cup stars like AC Milan’s Dutchman WesleySneijder and Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon are inevitable, Muta believes the biggest mistake Hekari could make is to lose focus and not conitinue their preparations for the opener against Al Wahda.