Australia’s most successful club comes into the regions most prestigious club competition looking to erase the bitter memories of their 2010 campaign, where they finished bottom of their group with only one win and a goal difference of -7.
This time it will be different.
Whereas last year Melbourne limped into the Champions League with injuries to key players such as Archie Thompson, Johnny Warren Medallist Carlos Hernandez and Billy Celeski hindering their progress.
This year the Victorians will be fielding their strongest ever side in Asia with the hope to progress to the second stage of the tournament for the first time. Melbourne Victory qualified for their third Asian Champions League after coming runners up to bitter rivals Sydney FC in both the minor premiership and championship in the 2009/10 season.
After being eliminated by the Gold Coast United in the second elimination final, Melbourne’s consolation prize will be entering this tournament without having to worry about their domestic league, and so Ernie Merrick will be able to better allocate his resources and make a real go for the ACL title.
The tournament also provides the much maligned Kevin Muscat, the club’s spiritual leader and arguably its greatest ever player, with the opportunity to sign off on a career which saw him spend the best part of a decade in the U.K, where he earned the title of being the ‘most hated man in Brittan’ due to his hard-man approach.
Melbourne’s first test comes against Gamba Osaka who also qualified for the tournament by coming runners up in their domestic league, Japan’s J-League. It will be the second time the two sides have been drawn together in the ACL, the first time coming in 2008 where Gamba took the honours in both legs, first defeating Melbourne 4-3 in an entertaining game at the Docklands before convincingly beating the Navy Blues 2-0 at the Osaka Expo Stadium.
Melbourne will go into the clash without Grant Brebner and play-maker Carlos Hernandez, who has recently lost favour with Merrick due to his inability to stay fit. Merrick will instead look to Costa Rican Marvin Angulo to be the creative force behind Melbourne’s attacks, and if his domestic form is anything to go by, the diminutive attacking midfielder will provide Gamba defenders with a real headache.
It’s in attack where Melbourne looks most dangerous, with a three pronged attack featuring Archie Thompson, Danny Allsopp and Socceroo Robbie Kruse all proven goal scorers both domestically and abroad. Robbie Kruse will be looking to rubber stamp his transfer overseas by having a big tournament, with the Melbourne striker having signed on with the Victory until the end of the ACL.
New signing Isaka Cernak will provide Melbourne with another attacking option off the bench, and if given the chance the Queenslander will be enthusiastic to prove himself to his new teammates and fans.
As good as they look in attack Melbourne will need their underperforming defence to step up against Gamab if they are to have any chance of stealing the points, with the main threat looking to come form Brazilian Adriano Ferreira Martins who scored 14 goals in 2010 for Gamba’s local rivals Cerezo Osaka.
Melbourne will also need to nullify the influence of Japanese international Yasuhito Endō, whose exploits in the Asian Cup helped Japan secure the trophy against Australia. The ‘maestro of Japan’, who has scored 7 goals in 24 appearances in the Champions League, is regarded as being technically excellent at set pieces, a sentiment which looks to haunt Melbourne as they have conceded most of their goals from set pieces in their recent domestic season.
On paper both sides look evenly matched with the game likely to be won in midfield, and it will present Merrick with the opportunity to use his tactical nous to try and extract the points against his Japanese nemesis.
It will be interesting to see whether Merrick uses Muscat in a holding midfield role in the absence of Brebner, after all it is a role which Muscat excelled in when he lead the Navy Blues to their first double in the 2007/08 A-League season. But it will depend on how much faith Merrick has in his back four on keeping a clean sheet, with new captain Adrian Leijer doing an outstanding job leading the team in Muscat’s absence so far.
As for predictions, it would be hard to tip against Gamba at home but with the J-League yet to commence and with most of their squad still in off-season mode, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Gamba were caught off guard by a rampaging Melbourne side looking to prove a point.
Melbourne 2-1 for mine
medo
Guest
can anyone tell me in wich hotel does gamba osaka stay in melbourne??thanx
Gobouten
Guest
Daniel, I wasn't trying to have a go at you for being optimistic, that's fine. But I couldn't help but think that you saw a heap of names on the Gamba team sheet that you didn't recognise and assumed they weren't that great. It seemed naive, thats all. I'm all for optimism and will be willing Sydney on against Kashima shortly (a match up of similar disparity) but I wont think for one moment that we are a match for them on paper. Luckily football isn't played on paper and the 'best' team doesn't always win. Good luck with the rest of the matches, especially the home games.
Nathan
Guest
Ow.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
That's true, however you can now get highlights packages of various games from the AFC site. At the very least it may give you some insight as to the various opposition you will be facing and who the different players are. http://www.the-afc.com/en/home/
AL
Guest
As a SFC supporter I wish MV all the best tonight. When any of our A-League teams play in the ACL they do so for all Austalian Football/
Daniel
Guest
Maybe I wrote this as a fan more than as a neutral (and I won't be doing that again), but as Mahony said it an unpredictable game and anything can happen.
olrac
Guest
Not if you live next door to me we will be huging int he street hahahahhaa It is hard to see melbourne getting even a point here. Look at the game against gold coast and we were really lakcing in centre midfield even if this was caused by good wide play we will be torn apart on the wings and the centre of midfield if we dont play to our sharpest. Gamba to win 2-0 but I want melbourne to win 5-0
Mahony
Guest
Football is abuot much more than the salary cap. Any fan of the game knows this and it is not unrealistic to think our top teams can - on a good day - compete with anyone in Asia. I won't be betting my house on Melbourne, but nor will I ignore the lessons of a lifetime following the game. Thats its beauty - anything can happen and sometimes does. Go Melbourne!!!!
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I'm with you Daniel. Can't see any reason for us to be pessimistic. I don't know enough about Gamba's current team to make any analysis of their playing strength, other than to observe that, 3 years ago, Gamba also had an extremely good team ... heck, they won the ACL so they were the best team in Asia. I saw Gamba play at Etihad Stadium in 2008 and, sure they were good, but MVFC were just as good. We went 1-0 up; 3-2 up and only lost 4-3 to a marvellous strike from outside the box in the 90'. In my opinion, that scoreline does not suggest any disparity between the teams on the night. And, as far as I'm concerned, our team tonight is much stronger and fully focused. In 2008 against Gamba MVFC's team included: Steven Pace, Adrian Caceres, Leigh Broxham, Sebastian Ryall & Nick Ward Tonight we'll have - in my opinion - technically and tactically better players in: Leijer, Franjic, Angulo, Kruse, Thompson. Do I expect to win away from home? No ... but, I'm hoping for a score draw and, if we get your 2-1 win ... well, the neighbours will probably call the police!
Brendo51
Guest
Its not about being "Optimistic" Daniel, comments like that just don't reflect reality. On paper Gamba are streets ahead of us. Anybody takking a critical look at the squads should see this. We are the underdogs in this encounter and by a fair margin. But given they are in pre-season and shouldn't be match fit and we are fully match fit should even up the differences somewhat.
Daniel
Guest
Sorry for being optimistic Gobouten, I just think with Melbourne's potent attack it makes for an entertaining game coupled with the fact that Osaka are missing influential players such as Takagi and and Hashimoto. Melbourne should atleast take a point...
Daniel
Guest
Thanks Ben, its hard to get info about Asian oposition in Australia as their leagues aren't broadcast by our media but your insight has helped. I'm aware of teenage sensation Takashi Usami and I will be keeping a keen eye on him all tournament.
Gobouten
Guest
"On paper both sides look evenly matched" This made me laugh. A lot.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
Endo hasn't been as hot of late. His passes through the midfield have been consistent however his set pieces have fallen off somewhat. Tomokazu Myojin is the player you need to negate through the midfield as he is likely to be playing the role of controlling midfielder in order to free up Endo. He is Gamba's Muscat, with a little more pace and a little less mistimed aggression. Negating his influence will be crucial. Going forward Shoki Hirai is the player you need to find a way to stop. 2010 was his breakout year and hence he is young, hungry and confident. Lee Keun-Ho is another to watch. The Korean has been on the fringes of the Taegeuk Warriors for a long time and has turned down two offers to trial with Blackburn Rovers. He's not about to be intimidated by anything Victory has to offer and has the ability to play wide, something Victory have struggled with. If Victory become fixated with Endo they will leave far too much space for these two to operate in, especially if Endo draws wide players towards the centre of the park. Usami is another to watch. He's only a kid so I'm not sure how he'll find the occasion or if Nishino decides to leave him on the bench. He's only 18 and Bayern Munich are already talking to him. I haven't seen much of him however he may be off to Germany for a trial. It's fine to talk about Endo, however Gamba has much, much more at its disposal as Victory found in years past. A helpful hint for Victory supporters, know your opposition; it makes the ACL much more enjoyable to watch.