ACL Preview - Jeju United

Jeju United players celebrate a goal last season

Before the 2010 K-League season it’s fair to say that not many people expected Jeju United to play a major role in the Championship battle.

But the team who has changed its name three times since its inaugural season in 1983 (when it was known as Yukong Kokkiri) did just that, taking the challenge to the traditional “powerhouse” teams of Korea, coming within a whisker of claiming the title.

After a slow start to the season, which saw them win only two of the first seven games, they really hit their straps around the mid-way point and they topped the table for 11 of the last 15 weeks and went 14 games undefeated before the K-League Championship Playoff.

Jeju started the 2010 season under the guidance of new manager Park Kyung-hoon, who implemented a game plan largely based on defence with a strong counter attack.

Crucial to that was midfield maestro Koo Ja-cheol, who had a breakout season which was capped off with an equally standout performance for Korea Republic at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. It was enough to attract interest from Europe and before the start of the 2011 K-League season Koo completed a move to VfL Wolfsburg in Germany.

If Koo was the creator in midfield, then Kim Eun-jung was the man who put the finishing touches on Koo’s handywork.

Kim was Jeju’s leading scorer with 13 goals, and chipped in for nine assists, with his all-round game enough to see him take out the K-League’s MVP Award at the end of the season.

But as the saying goes, Championships are built on a strong defence. And while Jeju fell at the final hurdle, their defence was certainly the cornerstone of their season. They conceded the least amount of goals of any team, just 25 in 28 games.

Their main man at the back was Hong Jeong-ho, who at the tender age of just 21, marshalled his defence with aplomb. His strong season was recognised with a place in the K-League Team of the Year and the 23-man squad for Korea Republic for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

There is a great deal of interest in how Jeju will back-up this season, especially given they no longer the element of surprise nor do they have their best player from last season in Koo Ja-cheol.

They have started the 2011 K-League season in decent form, registering a 2-1 win over Busan I’Park in the first round before playing out a 0-0 draw with Incheon United on the weekend.

This is the first ever time in the AFC Champions League and they didn’t get their campaign off to a good start when they lost 0-1 to Tianjin Teda at home on Match Day 1. Whilst they dominated large parts of the game they couldn’t capitalise and they succumbed to a Zhang Xiobin strike in the 54th minute.

Jeju aren’t a perennial powerhouse of Korean football and their lack of experience in continental Football could present Melbourne with a great opportunity to put a tough few weeks behind them.

Given both teams lost their opening games neither can afford to drop the three points in this one, otherwise they can all but write off their chances of advancing to the Round of 16.

  

K-League has the turnstiles clicking over

Seoul World Cup Stadium is packed for the opening
day clash between FC Seoul & Suwon Bluewings

Can anyone hear that noise? It sounds a little like turnstiles clicking over. Is that, is that coming from Korea?

If you’ve seen a lot of K-League crowds from the last few seasons you’d be crazy for thinking it was. But that’s exactly what has been heard right across the country in the first two weeks of the K-League season.

Last year in Round 1 a total of 71,357 people attended the seven matches across the opening weekend, an average of 10,193. Hardly a terrible effort, although there were three games that attracted fewer than 5,000 people.

Fast forward 12 months and the picture couldn’t be any more different.

With the addition of a new team, Gwangju, the league grew from 15 teams to 16 meaning an additional game each week.

Even taking that into consideration, the growth in crowd numbers is astronomical. The opening weekend of the 2011 K-League season saw 193,959 people go through the gates at an average of 24,244 per game.

That’s a 138% increase on last year. Phenomenal figures in anyone’s language.

It also won’t surprise anyone to learn it’s a new record for the K-League, beating the previous best of 172,142 set in 2008.

It’s not the only record broken on the opening day either, with the 51,606 who attended the FC Seoul vs Suwon Bluewings clash a new attendance record for an opening day clash (eclipsing the previous record of 47,928 for the FC Seoul vs Busan clash in 2004) and was the fifth highest crowd of all time in the K-League.

A new attendance record for Gwangju World Cup Stadium was also set when 36,241 people came through the gates for the clash between Gwangju and Daegu.

It wasn’t just a flash in the pan for the opening day either, with the crowds still strong in Round 2 action completed across the weekend.

An aggregate of 179,938 attended the eight games at an average of 22,492, with four of the eight games attracting more than 25,000 people.

When you combine the first two weeks the average attendance to date so far is 23,368. Compare that to last year when after two rounds a total of 158,872 attended the first two weeks, at an average of 11,348.

The aggregate of 158,872 after two rounds is lower than the attendances at both the opening two rounds this season.

It is a stunning turnaround.

Perhaps 2011 could be a watershed moment for the K-League when it comes to attendances.

Last year Korean Football Association President Cho Chung-yun conceded they needed to do work on building their attendances at K-League games, with a view to emulating Asia’s number one league, the J.League.

Speaking to the-afc.com, Cho said, “..the problem right now in the K-League is obvious - only the big clubs are able to attract a big number of fans.

“It will be good if the small clubs can think out of the box to do their part (to boost their stadium attendance) with the K-League’s help.”

If the first two rounds are anything to go by that has certainly be achieved with stunning effect.

   

Australia eyes ASEAN membership

FFA Chairman, Frank Lowy, with his
PSSI counterpart Nurdin Halid

Just months after suffering a battering in the political contest that was the 2022 FIFA World Cup Bid, the FFA enter are poised to enter an equally important political battle, this one a lot closer to home.

The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) elections are due to be held in early April and the result of the election could have an impact on Australia’s application for full membership into the ASEAN Football Federation.

Five years ago, when Australia was accepted as a member of the AFC, the AFC Executive Committee placed Australia into the ASEAN zone. It was a move welcomed by FFA Chairman, Frank Lowy.

"We are extremely pleased with the outcome," Lowy said at the time.

"We are glad to be a contributing member of the AFC and we have no problems at all being part of ASEAN. It is where we want to be."

The move was seen as a positive one for Australia politically as it gave the FFA the opportunity to grow its influence within the region.

However, five years on and Australia is still only an “invited member” of the AFF.

The outcome of next month’s AFF elections could be important in the FFA’s ongoing discussions to become a full member.

Back in January last year the FFA and Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) signed an agreement, committing to closer ties between the two nations.

Part of the agreement was for the PSSI to “…assist the FFA to fully integrate into South East Asian football and the ASEAN Football Federation”.

One of the men who signed the document was PSSI President Nurdin Halid, a highly controversial figure in South East Asian Football.

Halid, who has twice been jailed for corruption, has been President of the PSSI since 2004 and is up for re-election this year. FIFA are taking a keen interest in the elections, with some suggesting that FIFA have recommended that Halid be barred from contesting the elections.

Last week FIFA announced that the PSSI must complete its elections by the end of April, with 29 April the date set down by the PSSI.

Halid, meanwhile, is not just content with running for the presidency of the PSSI, he is also in the running for the role of Chairman of the AFF. Given his role in forging the agreement between the FFA and PSSI, if he were successful it would be a significant boost to the FFA’s chances.

However, given his background and the outcry over the “consultants” used by the FFA for the World Cup Bid, the FFA will be doing its best to steer clear of the election proceedings and any controversy that would come from being linked with Halid.

For their part, the FFA is “hopeful and excited” to resume discussions with the AFF after next month’s elections.

The AFF has set up an ad-hoc committee to consider Australia’s request, one that would require a significant change to the AFF’s constitution.

Speaking to Asian Football Feast, FFA’s Head of National Teams and International Relations, John Boultbee, explained the process of Australia gaining full membership.

“The constitution of the AFF stipulates that you have to be a member of the ASEAN group of countries to become a member of AFF,” Boultbee said.

“Australia is not an ASEAN country.  So to become a member requires a change of the constitution.”

The FFA becoming a more involved player in ASEAN was something I raised back in December last year when I wrote, “getting full membership of the ASEAN Football Federation and having a team participate in the biennial AFF Cup must be close to top of the agenda for the FFA. It is important politically as well as being important for our football development.”

The FFA agrees…to an extent.

“We want to be a contributor to football in our region, and participate fully in decisions and activities to develop football in our region,” Boultbee explained.

However, if Australia is accepted as a full member of the AFF they will not seek to have a team participate in the AFF Suzuki Cup.

Boultbee explained the rationale behind the FFA’s decision.

“We have made it clear that we would not seek to play in the Suzuki Cup.  Matches are played home and away, and it does not make sense for teams to fly 7, 8 or 9 hours to play Australia and vice versa.”

The various underage tournaments would provide a great development opportunity for Australia’s junior players. Australia has already having been invited to a number of underage events and the FFA would continue to send teams to participate in underage tournaments if granted full membership.

There is no timeframe as to when the FFA can expect a decision, although you get the impression they are keen to secure full membership sooner rather than later.

If and when that day comes it will be another historic day for Football in Australia, let’s just hope it’s not one shrouded in controversy.

  

Why I follow...

"Why I follow..." returns in 2011, detailing stories from fans far and wide as to why they support the club they do. In the first edition for 2011 Ben Maxwell, an Australian living in Japan, outlines how he came to support FC Tokyo.



In a roundabout way, Ruud Gullit is the reason why I follow FC Tokyo. I had arrived in Japan in the spring of 2000, and upon moving into the western outskirts of Tokyo Prefecture, I realised I needed a football team to support (having already chosen the Yomiuri Giants as my baseball team).

None of my co-workers in my new job had any interest in the J.League, so it was going to be up to me to find a team with no influence/interest from others.

I was living in Tokyo, but was almost as close to Yokohama and Kawasaki (and Hiratsuka) as I was to central Tokyo, so there were quite a few teams in my area. Little did I realise that my choice would be made in a convenience store, and because of an expression coined by that Dutchman with the dodgy perm, but thats how it happened one day, when I walked down to my local am/pm to buy god knows what.

am/pm just happened to be the shirt sponsor of FC Tokyo at that time, and at first I laughed to myself when I saw this poster (see above) in the window. But then I thought, hey, if these guys play Sexy Football, then that's my decision made, I'm in!

Due to working weekends, I was stuck with following results only, and I didn't actually go to a game until May 2002, when I got my first taste of a Tokyo Derby, albeit a midweek League Cup game in front of 6,500 fans. We came from behind to win, and it made me doubly glad I had chosen The Gasmen over Tokyo Verdy (or The Spews as I call them), as the away end contained all of about 100 dirty greens that night.

Also due to work I wasn't able to be at the League Cup Final in 2004, when we won our first major trophy, beating the dispised Urawa CubicZirconias on penalties, but I started going more regularly in 2006, and then properly took the plunge in 2009, getting my first season ticket.

And what a season it was, 2009: we finished fifth, our best-ever finish, and the undoubted highlight was that sunny Tuesday in November, when we won the League Cup for a second time, beating our neighbours from across the Tama River, Kawasaki, 2-0.

On TV I'd watched Liverpool win the Champions League (among other trophies), and Essendon win AFL Grand Finals, but that day was the first I'd ever had when one of my teams won a trophy while I was there. Absolute euphoria, and to do it against one of our big rivals made it all the sweeter.

L-R: Graham, Tomomi and Ben celebrate after FC Tokyo
won the 2009 J.League Nabisco Cup

Here's a pic of (from left) my On the Gas co-writer and Ajinomoto Stadium next-seat neighbour Graham, my fiance Tomomi and I basking in the glory of that fantastic day.

As good as 2009 was, 2010 was three times worse (or maybe four). Its still gutting to think about it now, but to wrap it up in a few words: We were absolutely sh#te and got relegated. Thats right, League Cup winners and fifth in the league, to 16th and relegated in just one year. Simply stunning, and my anger and rage and frustration took quite a while to die down, but writing about it helped, and I started On the Gas as a kind of therapy!

So last Saturday, we were back at Aji Sta for the first game of the new (J2) season. It turned out to be a 1-0 win, far from convincing but hopefully the first of many as we look to bounce straight back up to J1. It was a long way from Sexy Football, but I'm glad I spotted that poster way back when, and I consider myself lucky to follow FC Tokyo.

You can keep up-to-date with the latest from FC Tokyo by following Ben & Graham's On the Gas blog (http://on-the-gas.blogspot.com/) and you can also follow Ben on twitter @benjmaxwell

J.League ready for kick off in 2011

Nagoya celebrate a goal in the Super Cup last weekend
Photo: J.League Photos

It seems like only yesterday that Nagoya Grampus were being crowned J.League champions for the first time, but this weekend sees the kick off of another campaign, with the defending champions eyeing back-to-back titles.

Nagoya open their title defence at home, well one of their two homes, when they host Yokohama F.Marinos at Toyota Stadium on Saturday.

Dragan Stojkovic, hailed by Arsene Wenger as the man to replace him in the hot seat at Arsenal, has made minimal changes to the squad that ran away with the title last year.

The key addition to the squad is that of midfielder Jungo Fujimoto, who has moved across from Shimizu S-Pulse.

Nagoya has already added to their trophy cabinet this season, taking out the season opening Fuji Xerox Super Cup against Kashima Antlers in a penalty shootout.

Yokohama F.Marinos has had a mixed pre-season, with plenty of changes to the roster which has resulted in a less-than-convincing pre-season campaign.

The pressure is right on F.Marinos this year, with Manager Kazushi Kimura eyeing nothing less than their first title since 2004.

At home you’d fancy Nagoya to get their Championship defence off to the best possible start.

Arguably the highlight of the weekend is the Osaka Derby between rivals Gamba and Cerezo.

Cerezo stunned most last season when they managed to stay in or around the top three all year, eventually taking third spot and an Asian Champions League birth.

Their debut in that competition wasn’t the most convincing performance, a scrappy 2-1 win over Arema Indonesia at home.

One player who will be looking to impress more than most will be Brazilian Adriano, who has made the twitch from the pink side of town to the blue side. Cerezo’s top scorer last season with 14 goals will be hoping to continue that form for Gamba this season and has the opportunity first up to deliver a dagger in the heart of all Cerezo fans who adored him last season.

He has been replaced by Rodrigo Pimpão, a 23-year old striker on loan from Vasco da Gama. He will take time to adjust to the J.League, so we might not see his best for a few weeks.

Gamba Osaka are looking strong.

An undefeated pre-season and a 5-1 thumping of a hapless Melbourne Victory in their opening Asian Champions League fixture has them primed for the new season.

Along with Adriano, Gamba has also bought in Kim Seung-yong from K-League side Jeonbuk Motors and he appears to have settled well, but in a number of good performances in the pre-season.

Given the form of Gamba Osaka during pre-season you cannot go past them getting the edge over their city rivals in this one.

Finally, there is much intrigue surrounding Shimizu S-Pulse this season. The Shizuoka-based club shot out of the blocks last season before fading badly.

There has been changes aplenty over the off-season with 15 players moving on, including strike duo Frode Johnsen and Shinji Okazaki.

They are big shoes to fill, with Okazaki scoring 13 goals last season. That job falls to the experienced Naohiro Takahara who was signed from Suwon Bluewings, and new Australian singing Alex Brosque who finally signed after a dispute between Shimizu and his A-League side, Sydney FC.

To go with all of that, a new coach was bought in with Afshin Ghotbi taking the reigns in 2011.

They face newly promoted Kashiwa Reysol first up, who stole Akihiro Hyodo off Shimizu over the off-season which will add some extra spice to the affair.

It’s a game I expect Shimizu will want to win and despite all the changes, I think they’ll edge Kashiwa in a closely fought contest.

Other games this weekend include (my predictions in bold):

Ventforet Kofu vs Jubilo Iwata

Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs Vegalta Sendai

Avispa Fukuoka vs Albirex Niigata

Kawasaki Frontale vs Montedio Yamagata

Vissel Kobe vs Urawa Reds

Kashima Antlers vs Omiya Ardija

 

Mixed night for Australian's in the ACL

Josh Kennedy escapes a tackle from
fellow Australian Adam Griffiths (L)

It’s a sign of Australia’s growing engagement with Asia that three Australian’s were involved in AFC Champions League action last night, outside of Melbourne Victory’s clash with Gamba Osaka.

The match between Chinese Super League side Hangzhou Greentown and Nagoya Grampus of the J.League saw two Australian’s – Adam Griffiths and Josh Kennedy – pitted against each other.

And somewhat surprisingly it was the Chinese side that came out on top, winning the encounter 2-0 in front of a boisterous crowd of over 28,000 at the Yellow Dragon Sports Centre in Hangzhou.

Adam Griffiths was substituted after just 42 minutes, whilst Josh Kennedy played the full game but was unable to have much of an impact as Hangzhou dominated most of the game.

On the other side of the continent in Uzbekistan, Pakhtakor were taking on Saudi side Al Nassr.

Jon McKain, previously with the Wellington Phoenix, was in the starting line-up for Al Nassr.

In a see-sawing contest, Pakhtakor looked headed for a home win first up before disaster struck when Serbian defender Bojan Miladinovic conceded an own goal in the 88th minute, levelling the scores at 2-2 which is how the game finished.

 

Normal service resumes for Melbourne in Asia

Lee Keun-ho celebrates Gamba's third goal last night

Another trip to Japan, another thumping! Sadly for Melbourne Victory fans it is becoming an all too familiar tale.

In two previous trips to Japan the Victory have lost 0-2 to Gamba Osaka in 2008, and 0-4 to Kawasaki Frontale last year.

Throw in last night’s disaster and the scorecard makes for horrible reading: P3, W0, D0, L3, GF1, GA11.

Oddly, there was an air of cautious optimism surrounding Melbourne Victory fans in the lead up to last night’s clash. Gamba were yet to start their season and had only played a handful of pre-season games. They weren’t “battle hardened”.

Victory on the other hand were coming off the back of a season, albeit one that never reached any great heights, and were primed for battle.

That optimism lasted all of three minutes, which is how long it took for Gamba to expose Victory’s weakness – defending at set pieces.

An early corner wasn’t cleared and Tukuya Takei, who had space aplenty on the edge of the box, fired home the opener.

A bad start turned into a nightmare just minutes later when Muscat fouled Lee Keun-ho inside the box, gifting Gamba a second courtesy of their new Brazilian signing Adriano.

The nightmare became a full blown disaster on 11 minutes when Victory gifted Endo acres of space, with the crafty playmaker playing a delightful ball in behind that hopelessly exposed Matthew Kemp, allowing Adriano to cross the ball low across the box to find Lee Keun-ho to tap in a third.

In the space of 11 minutes the game was over as a contest, all without Gamba working up a sweat. They could afford to sit back a little more and cruise in third gear for the remainder of the game and that is just what they did.

Sadly it was the tactics of Melbourne Victory that played as big a part as any in their downfall.

Victory have showed a worrying naivety in previous ACL campaigns, refusing to change their normal system of play when faced with a different opponent and different tactics. It had been exposed many times before and the hope, for Victory fans, was that the club had learnt from this and would alter their tactics this time around.

They didn’t.

What we saw was Melbourne line up with a back three, restoring Kevin Muscat to defence and pushing Adrian Leijer into a more defensive midfield role. It was a baffling move and one that showed up Ernie Merrick.

There now have to be serious doubts over his ability to take this side forward. Already it is looking like this could be another failed ACL campaign.

For a club that has aspirations of being the biggest club in Australia and a big player in Asia, that is not even remotely acceptable.

 

Money should not be the focus

Hideo Hashimoto (L) takes on Adelaide United's Cassio
in the 2008 AFC Champions League Final

It’s almost kick off time for another edition of the AFC Champions League, and that can only mean one thing – the ready-made excuses will start coming thick and fast from Australian fans, media and occasionally, even A-League clubs themselves.

“Cashed up” “heavyweights” “endless resources”, they’re all claims we’ve heard before and for the most part they have no basis.

It would be a wrong to completely ignore the fact that J.League, K-League and CSL clubs do have more money at their disposal, but to use it as justification or an excuse for why their clubs have success over A-League sides masks the real disparity between the nations.

That comes at a more basic youth development level.

Take Gamba Osaka for example, three of their starting XI in the first leg of the 2008 ACL Final, as well as Takumi Shimohira who came off the bench, are products of the Gamba Osaka youth system.

Two of those players, Takahiro Futagawa and Hideo Hashimoto, as well as Shimohira, are still with the club, while Michihiro Yasuda left during the January transfer window for Vitesse Arnhem in Holland.

The latest off the production line, Takashi Usami, is rated as the best player to come through the Gamba Osaka youth system and already has Bayern Munich interested in him. All this for a kid who is only 18 years old.

Sydney’s J.League opponents this year, Kashima Antlers, are in a similar boat with two of their starting XI from the weekend’s Super Cup coming through the Kashima youth system, while another handful were plucked from straight High School and have spent their entire careers with Ibaraki-based club.

It is these youth systems that currently set Japan, in particular, apart from Australia.

Any new side that wishes to enter the J.League, be it in J1 or J2, must have an U18, U15 and U12 team to compliment their senior team.

Not only does this ensure a strong connection with their local community, something that has been critical in seeing crowds rise over the last decade, it also allows the clubs to work with their best local talent from an early age.

Doing so gets them into the “system” and by the time they are in their late teens many are ready to take the step up to senior team action.

Compare that to the A-League where it is left to local clubs with part-time coaches to nurture our best talent until they reach an age where they are eligible for the National Youth League. Even then there is often a large disconnect between the NYL side and A-League side.

This year’s ACL has yet to kick off and already the same excuses are being bandied about.

Grantley Bernard, writing in the Herald Sun on Saturday, got the ball rolling when he wrote, "... (that's) all part of the test against big Asian teams that have unlimited resources and money while the A-League teams in the Champions League remain restricted by the salary cap and squad sizes."

It is lazy an innacurate to focus purely on the monetary aspect and it serves Australia no good as it looks to gain more respect within The AFC. It's the old Aussie arrogance rearing its ugly head again - it's not that they're better than us, it's just they have more money!

Instead of focusing on that one aspect, fans, media and clubs would be better served by actually learning a few lessons from a league that has been there and done that when it comes to setting up a new league and new teams.

They may just be surprised by what they find.

 

ACL Preview - Suwon Bluewings

Suwon celebrate winning the 2010 Korean FA Cup

For a club with a history littered with success, the fact Suwon has gone the best part of a decade without lifting the continents showpiece trophy is not something that sits too well with everyone involved with the club.

Suwon last tasted continental success in 2002, when they won the old Asian Club Championship – repeating their effort from a year earlier when they won their first continental crown.

Just after being appointed as their new manager in June last year, after Cha Bum-kun resigned after seven years in charge, Jung Sung-hyo set his sights on success in the AFC Champions League.

Afterall, he knows the importance of continental success after being an assistant coach at Suwon during their triumphs in 2001 and 2002.

During the World Cup break Jung strengthened his Suwon side by signing Naohiro Takahara on loan from Urawa Reds, Park jong-jin from Gangwon FC and pulled off a stunning coup when he snatched Pohang Steelers captain Hwang Jae-won from under their noses.

While it didn’t eventuate in success in 2010, Suwon crashed out to eventual champions and fellow K-League outfit Seongnam Ilhwa in the Quarter Finals, Jung didn’t let that deter him and was once again busy in the transfer market in the K-League off-season.

No fewer than 25 players have been recruited during the off-season, although a fair percentage of those are players promoted from their Youth Team and signed from University or High School teams.

Going in the other direction were 27 players, among them Naohiro Takahara who ended his loan spell and signed with J.League side Shimizu S-Pulse as well as last seasons top scorer in the ACL Brazilian Jose Mota, whose loan from Molde FK ended.

The calibre of players coming in, however, more than makes up for any losses. Lee Woon-jae, once Korea’s number one goal keeper, departed for Chunnam Dragons and Suwon went out and replaced him with current number one, Jung Sung-ryung, who moves from current ACL champions Seongnam Ilhwa.

Choi Sung-kuk

Also making that move is striker Choi Sung-kuk, who will be looking for more opportunities in Suwon. And their playing roster has strengthened again in the last few days with the signing of Uzbek international Alexander Geynrikh on loan from Pakhtakor.

Jung’s philosophy is simple – to win playing attractive Football.

He recognises that that is the way the game is moving and he wants Suwon playing the same way.

“I think the recent trend is attacking football with short passes like Barcelona. Though we can be as good as Barcelona I want to show decent attacking football because I believe that only attacking football can attract fans,” he told the-afc.com recently.

Such wholesale changes normally result in the squad taking time to adjust and it remains to be seen what affect it will have on this Suwon outfit.

One thing is for certain though, Suwon aren’t going to die wondering and that could spell trouble for their opponents.

   

ACL Preview - Gamba Osaka

Gamba Osaka won the 2008 AFC Champions League

If Ernie Merrick’s men were hoping for a easy start to their AFC Champions League campaign they get a rude shock when the draw was announced last December.

Not only do they face their old foe Gamba Osaka first up, they do so in their own backyard – the derelict Expo ’70 Stadium in Osaka.

Melbourne and Gamba fought one of the best AFC Champions League games in recent memory in 2008 when Gamba snatched a late winner to leave Melbourne with a 4-3 win and all three points.

Of the starting XI for Gamba that night, seven are still with the club. As is coach Akira Nishino, so they will be no strangers to Melbourne Victory.

Knowing how a team plays is one thing, beating them is another. And that is the challenge that lay ahead for Merrick’s men.

Gamba’s biggest change over the off-season has been to their attacking stocks. Gone are one-time regulars Lucas, who scored the late winner in 2008, and South Korean Cho Jae-Jin.

To replace them they didn’t have to look for, taking Brazilian Adriano off cross-town rivals Cerezo Osaka. Adriano scored 14 goals in the J.League last season and Gamba will be hoping he can replicate that form this season.

One player to look out for is young sensation Takashi Usami.

Takashi Usami

Usami has been dubbed “the most talented player the club has ever produced”, which is quite an accolade given the quality of players to have come through Gamba’s youth system. Players such as Hideo Hashimoto, Takahiro Futagawa and Michihiro Yasuda.

At just 18 years of age Usami has already attracted the attention of Bayern Munich scouts, who will be in attendance for the Osaka Derby just days after their clash with Melbourne.

Usami started 22 games last year in the J.League, scoring 7 goals. He also featured four times during the ACL, three of them starts, scoring twice in the process.

Australian audiences will need no introduction to Yasuhito Endo.

Endo is a mainstay of both the Gamba and Japanese national team and is deadly from the set piece. He sets up a lot of Gamba’s attacks and the Victory midfield and defence will have their work cut out for them negating his influence.

Endo is keen to add another ACL title to his collection too, telling the-afc.com last week, “…of course we think we can win the title again, we will try as hard as we can to win this Championship.”

Gamba’s desire to always play attacking Football will not change for the ACL, with the side likely to play an attacking 4-2-3-1 formation.

They have been felled by a couple of key injuries however, with Tomokazu Myojin sidelined with a  right foot injury until mid-March and Hideo Hashimoto, one of their midfield generals, out after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament during the pre-season.

Gamba are considered by many to be a favourite for the J.League this season, and it is hard to see them not having a strong run at a second ACL title in three years.