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Well, outside of the two groups in which Australian clubs are involved, there's not much I can say. No doubt a bounty of other members will fill in the gaps with lively discussion of this competition.
Melbourne Victory will face Korean side Chunnam at the Telstra Dome. Melbourne ended their domestic campaign in excellent form although it wasn't enough to make the finals - poor form was the norm.
Our present national team coach, Pim Verbeek, said of the Koreans that they'll work extremely hard, they'll be speedy and they'll be skilly. Well he didn't say that exactly, but words to that effect nevertheless. I'm kind of dubious about that last bit - the standard of football on display was generally poor. Having said that, the most impressive display was the first half that Seongnam gave against Adelaide in last seasons edition. They also hail from Korea. As their opponent, last season they were also disappointing domestically, finishing 10th. They qualified by winning some knock-out competition. Expert is I.
I expect the crowd to be disappointing. Advertisements concerning this competition have generally been lacklustre, perhaps excepting Sydney's meeting with Urawa? But yes, most of the public have never heard of Chunnam which isn't an ideal spark. Also, I wonder how Melbournians will consider a mid-week sporting occasion.
It's been said that the ACL is played to a slower tempo than the A-League. With that being so, the absence of Costa Rican international playmaker [?!] Carlos Hernandez may be felt. If he was present, it wouldn't of been out of the question that he'd pull the strings. Like his club, he was disappointing for the most part but came into it towards the climax of the season.
mutu [as if you'll read this
]: I know you've been disconnected from the J-League for some time but I'd welcome any sort of comment to do with Gamba Osaka, who Melbourne will meet. Urawa seem to have the stand-out support, but that doesn't mean Gamba don't have their own loyal support, of course...
Victory's other group rival is Thai club Chonburi FC. I fear the effects of the climate - it was so evident with Indonesian side Persik Kediri where they were undefeated at home but lost all three matches away.
*
Adelaide have a difficult away trip to face Pohang Steelers, a name which to be sounds befitting an American club. Pohang will be in excellent spirits having snatched a late winner against Chunnam in the K-League opener! There's so much to advantage of the Koreans - their opponents failed to make the finals so haven't been faced with a competitive match for some time. One thing that's good for them, though, is that they've recovered some of the players they so sorely missed in the A-League, one explanation of their prior failure. I expect a Pohang victory.
So yeah, the rest of you are free to discuss these matches and those of other groups. :thmbup:
Oh, I'd like to share this. It's not relevant to this season's competition, still... a very nice goal by Choi Sung-kuk:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8DSnXlukuhc
Melbourne Victory will face Korean side Chunnam at the Telstra Dome. Melbourne ended their domestic campaign in excellent form although it wasn't enough to make the finals - poor form was the norm.
Our present national team coach, Pim Verbeek, said of the Koreans that they'll work extremely hard, they'll be speedy and they'll be skilly. Well he didn't say that exactly, but words to that effect nevertheless. I'm kind of dubious about that last bit - the standard of football on display was generally poor. Having said that, the most impressive display was the first half that Seongnam gave against Adelaide in last seasons edition. They also hail from Korea. As their opponent, last season they were also disappointing domestically, finishing 10th. They qualified by winning some knock-out competition. Expert is I.
I expect the crowd to be disappointing. Advertisements concerning this competition have generally been lacklustre, perhaps excepting Sydney's meeting with Urawa? But yes, most of the public have never heard of Chunnam which isn't an ideal spark. Also, I wonder how Melbournians will consider a mid-week sporting occasion.
It's been said that the ACL is played to a slower tempo than the A-League. With that being so, the absence of Costa Rican international playmaker [?!] Carlos Hernandez may be felt. If he was present, it wouldn't of been out of the question that he'd pull the strings. Like his club, he was disappointing for the most part but came into it towards the climax of the season.
mutu [as if you'll read this
]: I know you've been disconnected from the J-League for some time but I'd welcome any sort of comment to do with Gamba Osaka, who Melbourne will meet. Urawa seem to have the stand-out support, but that doesn't mean Gamba don't have their own loyal support, of course... Victory's other group rival is Thai club Chonburi FC. I fear the effects of the climate - it was so evident with Indonesian side Persik Kediri where they were undefeated at home but lost all three matches away.
*
Adelaide have a difficult away trip to face Pohang Steelers, a name which to be sounds befitting an American club. Pohang will be in excellent spirits having snatched a late winner against Chunnam in the K-League opener! There's so much to advantage of the Koreans - their opponents failed to make the finals so haven't been faced with a competitive match for some time. One thing that's good for them, though, is that they've recovered some of the players they so sorely missed in the A-League, one explanation of their prior failure. I expect a Pohang victory.
So yeah, the rest of you are free to discuss these matches and those of other groups. :thmbup:
Oh, I'd like to share this. It's not relevant to this season's competition, still... a very nice goal by Choi Sung-kuk:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8DSnXlukuhc
