11 Nov 2008(Tue)

It ended up being far easier than even they could have hoped for. Gamba Osaka took a huge step towards securing a first AFC Champions League title last Wednesday by scoring three times without a single away goal in reply in the first leg of the final against Adelaide United, and if anything, it would have been they and not their opponents to regret that the final scoreline did not entirely reflect the match itself. The moves leading to both of Gamba’s first half goals may have stemmed from Adelaide errors, but the home side outshot their opponents 17 to three, and could easily have won the game by a margin at least five goals. Going into injury time, I joked to my friend that we might still have time for a couple more, but was almost proved right as first Yasuhito Endo’s free kick appeared to have added a fourth – in the excitement behind the goal, no-one noticed the offside flag that had been raised against Roni – and then Masato Yamazaki missed a golden chance moments later.

 

The commentators on Fox Sports in Australia spoke of how Gamba were run on an operating budget of US$47 million (£30 million), while Adelaide had to survive on a turnover of just one tenth of this figure at AUS$7 million (£3 million). The fact that Australian football has made light of the gap in resources to succeed on the Asian stage is proof of its future potential, and even if the J League strengthens its position as the best in the region, Australia will certainly be its most dangerous challengers. However, the performance of Adelaide in this first leg was desperately lacking in substance. The long journey may have taken its toll – and in this sense, playing the first leg at home may be of greater benefit in Asia – but even coach Aurelio Vidmar was at a loss to explain his team’s failings. ‘Whether it was the occasion or nerves that got to us,’ he shrugged, ‘it was just pretty uncharacteristic on our behalf’.

 

The achievement of his opposite number, Akira Nishino, in leading a problem-ridden Gamba side to the brink of continental glory cannot be overemphasised. The league defeat to FC Tokyo on Saturday was excusable after their ACL exploits, but suffering from the impact of injuries, illnesses, and player departures from the very outset, disappointing results have been all too common this season. Gamba won the league in 2005 with a relatively low tally of 60 points, but even though stronger opponents saw them fall to third in both 2006 and 2007, results had actually steadily improved to the extent that they finished with 66 and 67 points respectively. This year, having taken so long to find any rhythm, the team is currently seventh in the table, and will only end up with 56 points even if they win all three of their remaining league matches. The Gamba side of 2008 is by no means a vintage.

 

However, Gamba have found a couple of extra gears for the challenge of the ACL, and throughout the knockout stages in particular, have raised the level of their performance with each passing game. Scoring goals has been the biggest problem domestically since the departure of Bare, but this has not been an issue in the ACL thanks to the form of Lucas and Yamazaki, with the latter appearing especially well suited to Asian competition. Yamazaki has just four goals from 29 league appearances this season, and a meagre seven from 105 when his spells with Yokohama F Marinos and Oita Trinita are added to the total, and yet he is this season’s second highest scorer in the ACL with five strikes to his name. Nishino is not unlike Sir Alex Ferguson in that he has a strong belief in his own judgement and – perhaps as a consequence – can fall out with players from time to time, but for managers like these, results are all that matter. Japanese clubs may be blessed with deeper pockets than most of their regional rivals, but in gearing his players towards the continental crown, Nishino has succeeded where this year’s Urawa Reds and Kashima Antlers could not.

 

Of course, the title is not yet in the bag, and the Adelaide performance in the second leg this Wednesday will likely bear little resemblance to that of a week ago. United demonstrated their firepower in front of goal with a 3-0 home win over Bunyodkor in the semi-final last month, and could yet cause Gamba real problems if allowed to dictate the pace of the game. It is certainly in Gamba’s best interests to approach the second game in a similar manner to the first, as just a single away goal in the net of 17-year-old Mark Birighitti (regular goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic is suspended following his late yellow card last week) would surely end any lingering hope that Adelaide may have. The ACL title, a place in the Club World Cup, and potentially a personal dilemma for me, are now within arm’s reach.