First off, let me take off my blue and white goggles and say: what was I thinking tipping Melbourne for the win? Seriously. Secondly, what a game! Four goals inside 25 minutes – three of them for Gamba – two penalties, beautiful football, a Brazilian. It had it all.
After what transpired yesterday with the North Queensland Fury fiasco, last night’s Asian Champions League match between Gamba Osaka and Melbourne Victory, which ended 5-1 in favour of the Japanese, highlighted the amount of work Melbourne, and A-League sides as a whole, need to do if it is indeed to be recognised as a genuine threat in Asia.
On a wet and quick pitch, Melbourne was outplayed for most of the match by their technically gifted opponents, with Gamba always looking a threat when in possession of the ball.
Poor defensive pressure, non-existent marking and ball watching were the hallmark of an ACL Melbourne loss, with the Victory never able to get into any sort of rhythm.
To be fair, Melbourne weren’t without their chances.
Danny Allsopp hit the post late in the first half and the Navy Blues had 10 shots to Gamba’s 17. But after going three goals down within 11 minutes, it was always going to be an uphill battle.
Add to that the fact that Melbourne’s passes rarely found their target and you have a recipe for disaster.
The first goal of the night came in the fourth minute of the game, and surprise, surprise, it was from a set piece, with Takuya Takei converting off a Yasuhito Endō corner.
Takei, who was waiting unmarked on the edge of the penalty box, was able to send his volley through a wall of white and past a sprawling Michael Petkovic.
Brazilian Adriano then scored his first goal for Gamba since switching from Cerezo Osaka from the penalty spot in the 7th minute after Kevin Muscat was judged to have fouled Korean Lee Keun-Ho inside the penalty area. And the Brazilian converted the spot kick without hesitation after having to re-take it due to encroachment.
In the 11th minute, Gamba’s third goal was a result of more poor defending, as Endō played Adriano down the right wing and the Brazilian was just allowed to casually stroll towards the box before putting his ball in for a rampaging Lee Keun-Ho to slot the ball past Petkovic.
Adriano was given far too much time and space by Matthew Kemp, who should have jockeyed his Brazilian opponent into the corner flag rather than turn his back on the striker and allow him to send a ball into the penalty area for a goal.
Melbourne Victory got a goal back in the 22nd minute as Kevin Muscat made up for his earlier indiscretion when he converted a penalty which was won when Archie Thompson was fouled in the penalty area by Takumi Shimohira, who was lucky not to see red as he was the last defender.
The second half started with Gamba creating numerous opportunities, and the Japanese outfit dominated possession, suffocating Melbourne and cutting of any space that the Navy Blues tried to create.
Gamba’s pressure was so immense that Melbourne looked uncomfortable in possession for the opening ten minutes of the second half.
Adriano again turned creator in the 63rd minute when he mesmerised the Melbourne defence, sending them left and right with his trickery before laying off the ball to Takahiro Futagawa, who had the time and space inside the penalty area to have one touch before smashing the ball past Petkovic and into the back of the net for a deserved goal.
Melbourne’s defence was again embarrassed in stoppage time when Lee Keun-Ho found an unmarked Kenta Hoshihara on the back post and the striker was able to send his looping header over Petkovic for Gamba’s fifth and final goal.
For the majority of the game, Melbourne was made to look like the side that was coming off pre-season, with Gamba putting on a football workshop at the Osaka Expo 70 Stadium.
The Japanese were technically superior to Melbourne. Their passes hit their targets, they opened space, they were creative, and they were patient.
Gamba played ‘joga bonito’ as if it was their own, and they showed Melbourne, and the A-League as a whole, why the J-League is the benchmark in Asian football at this point in time.
It got to the point where you didn’t mind that your team was being dissected and made to look like amateurs – you were watching a team playing football the way it was intended to be played.
FFA take note: stop wasting your money on expansion. More money needs to be spent domestically improving grass roots football so that we are one day able to replicate the J-League and produce our own technically gifted players from the bottom up.
Incoming Melbourne CEO Anthony Di Pietro recently stated that Melbourne is looking to increase its brand awareness in Asia. If that’s the case, Melbourne really needs to start taking the ACL more seriously because it is a prestigious tournament and at the moment Melbourne aren’t giving it the respect it deserves.
How do you brand a 5-1 loss?
Daniel_Iaconis
Roar Rookie
Jmac I hear what you are saying. I was pretty disillusioned coming into the game, but after seeing the starting 11 I quickly lost all confidence. If you would have asked me 24 hours ago about Merrick I would have supported him but today I think going forward MVFC need a new direction. It’s only one game but gee it sets the club back a long way and its Melbourne’s third ACL campaign so they should have learnt by now what to expect and the brand of football to play.
floppybottom
Guest
my analysis my left foot : apologist for the melbourne victory?
Daniel
Guest
Art I understand what you are saying, our league is still in it's infancy and we need to keep our expectations as realistic as possible but the fact of the matter is that the j-league is far more superior league than ours at this point in time, and so it should be, it's been around 20 years longer and has benefited from the legacy of hosting a world cup. They are better than us because they focus more on improving grassroots football, they constantly produce technically gifted players while our FFA wastes millions on expanding the league and diluting our talent pool.
jmac
Guest
I think the A-League has progressed - on field at least - to the point where we can expect to be at least competitive against J-League teams, without any hint of delusion. but - and here I agree with the general tone of comments here - you have to get your tactics right. most people would've seen this coming once the starting line-up was named and likely formation became apparent. As a MV fan, I usually woud've been doing a Ricky Ponting on my flat screen after 11 minutes, but last night I was calm as though I was seeing only what I was expecting to happen. I am beginning to suspect that any apparent tactical nouse merrick has shown over the years has been purely by fluke. I'm no top level coach, so if I can see it, then why Ernie, why?!?
Daniel - Hangzhou from China defeated current J-League champions Nagoya 2 - 0 last night. Would you have picked that? That one result does not mean the CSL is better than the J-League, just as the Melbourne Victory result against Brisbane did not mean they are a better team than the Roar. On the day and with the right tactics a team from the A-League is capable of getting a result against Japanese opposition. Winning the Asians Champions League is an altogether different proposition but one day, here's hoping, there will be an A-League team with enough quality on and off the pitch to win the thing.
Daniel
Guest
Hey Art thanks for the feedback, the editors chose the heading, mine was originally "gamba give Melbourne 5 reasons why they are still number 1" but I get the point. I think the gap is still significantly great between the 2 leagues, I mean Melbourne thumped Brisbane earlier this season and going by your logic it would constitute that they atleast be competitive. The result may not have been so bad had it been the Roar or CCM, but I think Gamba would beat any a-league side playing that brand of football.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
I'm with Art on this one, there seemed to be little homework done and there appeared to be logistical failings as well. Victory seemed to line up as if they were going to hand Gamba a hiding. Very brave, also not terribly bright.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
that is one of the most ridiculous comments I've read in a long, long time.
olrac
Guest
I was trying to get at the naievity of MVFC with regaurd to our skill level vs Gamba. Specifically Ernie Merrick has tried to play the same in each of the ACL's and it has not worked because MVFC's strength in the a-league i.e. score one more than the other guy, doesnt fly in asia. a team like Adelaide in 2008 who plyed th their (and arguably australias) strengths went far. Melbourne dosnet have the team for asia because what we try to do the other nations especially japan do so much better.
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
Yes, obviously there were some bizarre starting options taken, you can't say they were typical Merrick options, they were just plain bizarre. There's a broader issue: 1. the fact that they even see a need to play Muscat, when, by his own admission, he is no longer up to it; 2. the spat with Mate (who is eligible to play ACL); and 3. the fact that they needed to leave Carlos at home (or did they, reports are ambiguous). There is more to this story than just Ernie inexlicably selecting a bizarre starting line up.
Seongnam Ilwha also exposed Gamba's deficiences when they beat them 3-0 last year's Round of 16. Morale of the story. Get your tactics right and you give yourself a chance. Merrick didn't give Victory a chance.
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
Adelaide did so with a disciplined, counter-attacking style of soccer. But Gamba too cruelly exposed their deficiencies soon afterwards.
BrisbaneGrowl
Guest
Exactly! The gap is in the timing between the two teams. The Victory came 5th this season and Sydney FC 9th. How are two teams who can't place well in the A-league, going to take on the J-league champions? Very much a non-issue as far as the quality of the A-league is concerned.
Daniel - you got this piece all wrong. Headline should read "Gamba’s victory shows gap between Merrick's ears" 900 words and not one mention of Merrick's flawed starting XI. Three strikers, and old man in the middle of defence and Leijer starting as a defensive midfielder. Recipe for disaster. Merrick had egg on his face. He was 3-0 down and was forced to take Ferreira off put Celeski on as DM and revert Leijer back to the last line. All this in the first 15 minutes. Why don't you mention this?? The gap between the league's is not as great as you think. Adelaide knocked out Kashima Antlers in the quarterfinals a few years back.
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
Broxham doesn't tower over them. I note he was brought on late in the game - Ernie's last roll of the dice :)
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
olrac you've seen enough of English soccer to know that lowly English teams, even teams from the 3rd and 4th tiers, are more than capable of holding their own against big English clubs. Why that is would take some rather lengthy essays and goes well beyond our persent scope. Suffice to say that if Victory is going to go into a game with a defensive structure weaker than your average League 2 team (and you have alluded to this already), then a quality team like Gamba, with a world class player like Endo in it, is going to rip them apart with relative ease.
Breen
Guest
No it doesn't!! It shows the gap between Gamba and MV - nothing more and nothing less. MV were rubbish most of the past season - why would we throw the baby out with the bath water and say they represented the best of HAL when everyone knows they weren't even close!
Funktapuss
Guest
Getting thumped by an Asian side is embarrassing. It won't wash with the Aussie public I am afraid. We tower over Asian people and to get humiliated like this just makes people laugh.
olrac
Guest
I was thinking that last night, but then I remembered Birmingham V Arsenel. The gap in quality and money is probably about the same. The difference is that birmingham went out with a game plan in mind that won (stack the midfield score on the counter). Melbourne naievly went to gamba with 3 strikers on the pitch and not a defensive midfielder to be seen.
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
Gamba has been dishing out hidings to Australian teams for a few years now - nothing new there. What is the gap in salary budgets of the respective teams? Would it be pushing a ten to one ratio? A team like Gamba includes some key members of the Japan NT, so you'd expect them to be a cut above most A-League teams.