Club World Championship

[Sym]

Travis Dodd
Travis Dodd
Travis Dodd

Did I say Travis Dodd ?

 

[David Votoupal]

Surely they'll have to use Salley against Gamba?

 

[ponno]

hard to think they will beat Gamba on sunday.... but who know... imagine Adelaide playing Man U..... would be huge for australian football

 

[Bear]

Travis Dodd
Travis Dodd
Travis Dodd

Did I say Travis Dodd ?

Most over rated player in this country

Waitakere's keeper was quite good IMO, fantastic saves, and you could tell the few nearly stuff ups he made were nerves.

 

[loyalist]

The key to Adelaide's goal was they swapped from an inswinger to an outswinger,

shouldve gone with a leg spinner IMHO

 

[voice of reason]

I'm interested to see what sort of squad Man Utd put up for this competition.  It is not even a blip on the European football radar screen, which shows how unimportant it is.  There are no news reports on the BBC Football pages and, even on www.manutd.com, I cannot find a single mention.
In 2003 European clubs opposed restarting this competition. 
All this kind of diminishes the event to some degree.  Good luck to Adelaide Utd though, it's still a big step up for them to be playing even second stream teams...

 

[Paolo]

I'm interested to see what sort of squad Man Utd put up for this competition.  It is not even a blip on the European football radar screen, which shows how unimportant it is.  There are no news reports on the BBC Football pages and, even on www.manutd.com, I cannot find a single mention.
In 2003 European clubs opposed restarting this competition. 
All this kind of diminishes the event to some degree.  Good luck to Adelaide Utd though, it's still a big step up for them to be playing even second stream teams...

You need to look harder imo


Strong squad for Japan

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed a full-strength, 23-man squad that will travel to Japan for the FIFA Club World Cup next week.

The Reds depart for Tokyo on Sunday, the day after the Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

United boss Sir Alex had hinted that he might leave some players behind to cope with the Stoke City fixture on Boxing Day, just three days after the Reds return from the Japanese capital. But the Reds manager's squad selection is a statement of intent - United want to win this competition and take world football's crown to go with the European title.

United enter the competition at the semi-final stage in Yokohama on Thursday 18 December (KO 10:30 CET) against one of Adelaide United (Australia), Waitakere United (New Zealand), or Gamba Osaka (Japan).

In the other half of the draw, Egyptian giants Al-Ahly fight it out with Mexicans Pachuca for the right to play LDU Quito of Ecuador in the other semi-final. The final is on Sunday 21 December (KO 10:30 CET) at the Yokahama Stadium.

Travelling squad:
Goalkeepers: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Foster; Defenders: Neville, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, O'Shea, Evans, Rafael; Midfielders: Ronaldo, Anderson, Giggs, Park, Carrick, Nani, Scholes, Fletcher, Gibson; Strikers: Berbatov, Rooney, Tevez, Welbeck.

http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid=...;newsid=6623739

 

[David Votoupal]

I think the reason United chose to bring a full squad is because England are looking to curry favour with their bid to host the World Cup.

 

[brett]

And possibly to continue to build their brand in Asia.

 

[Bear]

And possibly to continue to build their brand in Asia.

Id say thats the one and only reason IMO

 

[Jorome Alexander Bennett]

Match practice.
They simply don't play enough games in Europe.

 

[Arabmariner]

I think the reason United chose to bring a full squad is because England are looking to curry favour with their bid to host the World Cup.

Man U along with all the other big clubs couldn't give a toss about the world cup or anything else outside their own interests.The WC along with all the other international tournaments are a pain in the arse to them.

 

[northernspirit]

man u would be against england wc, it would detract media attention from them and affect revenue in the leadup to the wc... i bet secretely theyll be gunning for us

 

[David Votoupal]

Pachuca beat Al-Ahly 4-2, so Adelaide United would face Ahly if they don't beat Gamba.

 

[Redline]

15th minute Adelaide should be up 1-0 over Gamba. Dodd missed a goal to the left by maybe a metre.

 

[David Votoupal]

Endo puts Gamba 1-0 up.

 

[Redline]

Well after 22 Gamba is up 1-0. Endo got the goal . Was some scrappy defending and hesitation from Galekovich. Was a soft goal IMO.

Sasaki has come off injured though.

One thing I have noticed about this game is that Adeliade are relying far to much on the wing and then crossing it into the box. When they come in on a frontal attack, they get to the box and then it's almost like they don't know what to do. THe pass it around the edge and back pass and end up on the wing crossing it in. They have had a couple of close chance, and one caseof 'damn camera angles' where even the commentators thought it went in.

EDIT: Half time 1-0 to Gamba. This ref is giving out Yellows like they're candy. 5 in the first half. The Reds have had some great chances, Dodd hit the cross bar with a header that would have been in if it had been half a foot lower. Endo and Lucas are clearly the play makers for Gamba. Both teams seem to be using the left wing almost exclusively. Adelaides defense in their zone is very scrambly. It doesn't seem to be very 'adhesive' if that makes sense.

Adelaide are playing much better then they were agains Gamba in the ACL finals, and against Waitakere. If they can get an early goal in the first half I suspect they can go on to win it.

 

[Redline]

Full time....Adelaide should have won that. Dodd missed 3 times by less then a metre, including one off the woodwork. THeir defence was poor though, and have now lost to Gamba 6-0 on aggregate.

 

[David Votoupal]

I thought it was a better showing compared to the ACL games, and the previous game though.

The football media in this country keep focusing on how much money the Japanese, Korean, Middle Eastern etc clubs have to spend on players, especially Brazilian imports but they completely miss the point.

They completely negate the fact that:
1) the most important, creative talent in the J-League are Japanese
2) these clubs have developed their players to play a certain way, successfully, and it shows when these players go out there to compete
3) these clubs, not just in Japan but also South Korea, and the Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries, have raised countless players through their ranks- most of Gamba's team is home-grown

In competitive terms, our clubs have given a good account of themselves against this calibre of opposition and will only improve with experience.

 

[Kareem]

Pachuca beat Al-Ahly 4-2, so Adelaide United would face Ahly if they don't beat Gamba.

absolute lol after the game
not once did they recognise adelaide's next opponents after the game
kept saying
their next game etc. Not once said who they were playing
maybe a bit disrespectful to their opponents- wouldnt mind seeing Al-Ahly tear em up to prove a point!

GO Al Ahly!!!