AFC Champions League for J-League clubs

J-League teams started their AFC Champions League run with solid results as three of the four combatants were victorious.

Nagoya Grampus came from behind to defeat Korean side Ulsan Hyundai 3-1. After Ulsan Hyundai took the lead twenty-five minutes in through the first-half as Cho Jin-soo redirected Yeom Ki-hun corner from close range. Eight minutes after the restart Blue Samurai Keiji Yoshimura's cross was headed in by Yoshida. With thirteen minutes remaining Davi scored the winner for Nagoya as he headed-in a corner. With four minutes remaining Naoshi Nakamura's free-kick was headed in by Magnum.

Gamba Osaka devastated Chinese Super League champions Shandong Luneng FC 3-0. Twenty minutes in Gamba took the lead as a following a corner a close range scramble resulted in Leandro poaching on the opportunity. Missed opportunities for the balance of the half left Gamba with a narrow one goal advantage at the break however with nineteen minutes remaining the spot was pointed to after Alejandro Cichero was adjudged to handling the ball in the area and Japan international Yasuhito Endo made no mistake bringing the match to 2-0. Eight minutes later Hayato Sasaki's entrance into the match proved opportunistic as he picked up a poor clearance and drove the ball in from the top of the box.

In a overwhelming performance South Korea's Suwon Bluewings defeated Kashima Antlers 4-1. Two minutes before the break the floodgates opened for Suwon with two late goals. First Chinese international Li Weifeng gave Suwon side the lead capitalized on a poor defensive clearance and only a minute later Eduardo doubled the margin as he volleyed-in Hong Soon-hak's cross. After the break the Suwon controlled the run of play and took the three goal lead with nine minutes remaining as Hong Soon-hak played a smooth one-two with Seo Dong-hyeon before sending the ball in. In added-time Park Hyun-bem made it 4-0 as he drove the ball in from inside the area before Marquinhos found little consolation a minutes later with a close range header to bring the match to a 4-1 conclusion.

Kawasaki Frontale defeated Chinese Super League side Tianjin Teda 1-0 on the strength of Renatinho's goal sixteen mintues in.

Photo credit: Yonhap news agency

Now or never

It is now or never for the Green Whites as they face Anorthosis Famagusta in Cyprus. The Cypriot powerhouse has been one of the bright stories of the Champions League and on the verge of qualifying for the knockout stage as they are in second place of Group B. Conversely and it is impossible to deny, Werder is one of the tournaments great disappointments floundering like a fish out of water, with a lowly three points in four matches. Overall play has been so poor in the Champions League and in Bundesliga action that Klaus Allofs and Thomas Schaaf spending much of their time downplaying talk of "crisis."

While I am obviously guilty of finding the silver lining, the club does appear to have turned the corner in the last three matches and actually playing some defense. The weaknesses of poor work ethic, caused by questionable levels of fitness have made a measurable improvement recent, evidenced in the nil draw to VfL Bochum, the 3-1 victory over FC Köln and the 2-1 loss to Hamburg in the Nord derby. Although there is much left to be desired, it is a start in the right direction.

In the opening match against Anorthosis Famagusta, Werder was was humbled at home with the Cypriot squad playing to a nil draw. The high energy attack that the Green Whites boast was a trickle, were shot after shot were off target and their opposition followed a point-by-point plan on the way to the draw. While obvious, to be victorious in Cyprus, Werder must not only continue their return to defending but find the ability to finish, which equally has been a problem.

Werder heads into the match with Sebastian Boenisch and Clemens Fritz confidently able to play but both decisions will likely be wait till the last minute. Mesut Özil, who is suspended domestically suspended will be able. Anorthosis Famagusta will be boosted with the return of Arian Beqaj but Traianos Dellas and Cedric Bardon are questionable.

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Gamba Osaka with AFC Champions League

Gamba Osaka won AFC Champions League with a flourish defeating A-League's Adelaide United 2-0 at Hindmarsh Stadium. A capacity crowd, dressed in red to support their home team's efforts were quickly silenced as Gamba displayed a fervor to score immediately. Blue Samurai Yasuhito Endō led Gamba as a whirlwind in the midfield and at the fourth minute Hayato Sasaki stuck a powerful drive that Adelaide's 17-year-old 'keeper Mark Birighitti's parry fell to a well-placed Lucas. Without delay the ex FC Tokyo man dispatched the ball into the net to the dismay of the shocked home crowd. The match was extremely open with Gamba winning in the midfield with super-charged play. It was clear they knew the trophy was their's and they searched to close the match off. At the fifteenth minute Gamba etched their name on the trophy as Takahiro Futagawa rolled a perfectly weighted through-ball to Lucas on the left who delicately flicked the ball above the onrushing Adelaide 'keeper. With the score now 2-0 and Gamba leading in aggregate 5-0 there was no doubts. While Adelaide fought notably on for a least a consolation goal for their loyal fans, with skipper Travis Dodd coming close, Gamba would not relent and the match ended 2-0. The great victory now leads Gamba into the World Club Cup.




Gamba Osaka:
22.Yoskuke FUJIGAYA, 2.Sota NAKAZAWA, 5.Satoshi YAMAGUCHI (Captain), 7.Yasuhito ENDO, 9.LUCAS, 10.Takahiro FUTAGAWA, 13.Michihiro YASUDA (19.Takumi SHIMOHIRA 65’), 16.Hayato SASAKI (30.Masato YAMAZAKI 58’), 17.Tomokazu MYOJIN (11.Ryugi BANDO 81’), 21.Kaji AKIRA, 27.Hashimoto HIDEO

Adelaide United:
20.Mark BIRIGHITTI, 5.Michael VALKANIS, 6.CASSIO, 8.Kristian SARKIES (21.Jason SPAGNUOLO 59’), 10.CRISTIANO (25.Robert YOUNIS 68’), 13.Travis DODD (Captain), 14.Scott JAMIESON, 18.Robert CORNTHWAITE, 19.Sasa OGNENOVSKI, 22.DIEGO (7.Lucas PANTELIS 68’), 24.Paul REID.

Adelaide - Gamba Osaka AFC Champions League final

Only a few hours away from the second leg of the AFC Champions League final, Gamba Osaka heads into Hindmarsh Stadium to face Adelaide United with a strong three goal advantage. Adelaide coach Aurelio Vidmar goes into the match without 'keeper Eugene Galekovic because of suspension and will have seventeen year-old Mark Birighitti between the pipes.

Adelaide coach Aurelio Vidmar knows the task is difficult but showing an optimistic side:

"We've just got to do the best with the numbers we have. We know it's a very difficult task but you've still got to believe anything's possible. The players that are going in there are going to give everything they possibly can to try to reverse the result."

The only changes from the opening match is with Adelaide's losses, Eugene Galekovic and Angelo Costanzo suspended as well as Paul Agostino out with injury.

Gamba Osaka's manager Akira Nishino is showing no signs of letting up:

"Three goals is a good advantage, and to use this advantage to get the first goal is very important."

Gamba's forces led by Blue Samurai Yasuhito Endō are ready to bring glory to the squad.

The match starts in five hours. I'll provide a full wrap-up once it ends.

Gamba humbles Adelaide United 3-0

In the opening leg of the AFC Champions League, Gamba Osaka devastated Adelaide United 3-0 at Expo ’70 with the Aussies offering little opposition. The normally tight marking Adelaide United were no match for Gamba and their midfield easily dissected in a match that seemed to be over sometime after the opening whistle. Gamba opened the scoring thirty-seven minutes after the start as Takahiro Futagawa sent a pass to Lucus into the channel and racing to the top of the Aussie box, his strike took an opportunistic bounce off Angelo Costanzo and into the net. Two minutes before the break, Yasuhito Endo continued in his great season as he struck a powerful drive to the back of the net with Hayato Sasaki and Lucas linking up as providers. The Blue Samurai turned provider as his perfectly placed corner at the sixty-eighth minute that rising star Michihiro Yasuda dispatched into the net. The young Michihiro continues to shine and after representing Japan in the Summer Olympics is well on his way to a outstanding career. With Adelaide no match for Gamba's resolve, the home side continued to press and came close to scoring on a number of occasions as well as having another goal by Yasuhito brought back. The return leg of AFC Champions League is set for November 12th at Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide with Gamba now owning a very commanding three goal margin.The Australia club will additionally be without the services of Eugene Galekovic who will be suspended for a yellow-card infringement.

"it's not enough to just get to the final" says Adelaide manager

Prior to his Adelaide United club facing Gamba Osaka in the first leg of the ACL final, manager Aurelio Vidmar is feeling confident:

"I don’t think that we need too much motivation for these next two games. It’s the final."

"I think our players have just risen every time they’ve come out for an ACL game so I’m very relaxed and very confident that we can do a good job tomorrow night."

"I want the players to be nervous, I think it’s only natural to be nervous. But if they understand their roles, which they do, then it shouldn’t be a problem."

"Reaching a first big final like this is tremendous and all of Australia will obviously be backing us all the way and if we perform the way we have throughout the ACL, I can’t see any reason why we won’t be successful."

"It’s been a dream run to get to this point but for our players, it’s not enough for them just to get to the final.We need to take that next step and whether we’ve got that in us, we’ll see over the next 180 minutes but I certainly believe we have."

"They are certainly the overwhelming favourites. Whether it’s added pressure on them, who knows? But they are certainly the favourites going into the final."

"(Yasuhito) Endo is a classy player – there’s no question about that - but I think that they have another 15 or 20 classy players."

"If you look at their two semi-final games, there’s no passengers at all on that team. They’re very quick, very strong, technically gifted and they compete – that’s what their strengths are."

"I have a lot of respect for Gamba Osaka. They are a very, very good footballing side and very strong."

"For a team to go to a place like Saitama and, from what I saw, beat Urawa Reds very convincingly shows that they are an extremely strong side."

Urawa Red Diamonds to miss three in AFC Champions League

The Urawa Red Diamonds will be without Hajime Hosogai, Ryota Tsuzuki and Takahito Soma in the second leg of the AFC Champions League semi-finals against Gamba Osaka on October 22 due to card suspensions. With the first leg level at one their absences will definitely impact the Red Diamonds plans, particularly with the exclusion of 'keeper Ryota Tsuzuki.

Urawa Red Diamonds v Gamba Osaka AFC Champions League

The semi-finals of the AFC Champions League begin to today with Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor visiting Adelaide United whilst J-League giants Urawa Red Diamonds and Gamba Osaka battle for the final spot.

The Red Diamonds visit to Osaka offers little surprises to these great rivals. Urawa are looking to defend their title but have been stumbling of recent in league action with only a single victory in the last six matches. In the clubs only meeting this year, Akira Nishino's Gamba handled the Red Diamonds a tough 3-2 defeat in-front of a packed house at Saitama Stadium. On the other side of the pitch Gamba has been slowly moving up the table with efficient Football and offering the opposition few scoring opportunities. This past weekend they shut down Kashima Antlers after three successive victories. Much of the battle will be decided in the disciplined midfield play with Nippon Daihyo 日本代表 代表 Yasuhito Endō leading the charge for Gamba facing off against the formidable Red Diamond midfield that includes Takahito Soma and fellow Daihyo Marcus Tulio Tanaka and Yuki Abe on the back-line.

In the other match of the day, at a packed Hindmarsh Stadium, Aurelio Vidmar's squad will employ their stingy defense in a effort to control the surging Uzbekistan club.

Prior to the match Aurelio Vidmar noted:

"It would be nice to keep a clean sheet but I think we’re good enough to score goals and I think through this whole campaign we’ve been very good defensively so I expect that to continue."

Adelaide will miss central defender Sasa Ognenovski but Lucas Pantelis is expected back from injury. Bunyodkor, led by Brazilian legend Zico, offer a punishing attack with Rivaldo at the helm.