Asian Champion's League

[Sheik Yerbouti]

as only a part time soccer fan, it has certainly made me sit up and take more notice of the club and the sport in general.

That's the added bonus. People take notice, KIDS take notice, and if Kids take notice and get an interest then the game blossoms.....

''Soccer was invented by European ladies to keep them busy while their husbands did the cooking. '' - Hank Hill.

[Jase]

Was at the game last night and as has been said before, the atmosphere at least before the game and in the first 5 minutes was absolutely brilliant. Even my usually reserved wife was screaming like a banshee....

However once the first goal went in silence, as could be understood... and it didn't get any better after that...

I thought that the gulf between the sides was evident all night, Gamba's 1st touch control was amazing, pinging it about on the floor, one touch football, beautiful to watch... and with Endo pulling the strings they were a class above.

Our boys tried their hardest but just couldn't quite keep the ball long enough or when we got into dangerous situations (down the wings) the final ball was schizen....

For me "the Kid" did well made a couple of brave saves, some interesting headers to clear and distribution was pretty good as well... Sasha was again one of our best, Reid, Christiano (for his hold up play) and Diego were all OK as well...Cassio had the red mist come down a few times, love to see a bit of mongrel from him, he has all the skills and when he's grumpy he's even better....

Thought Waqar Younis was good when he came on, p1ssed off their right back and generally put himself about, maybe not the most polished of players but gets stuck in and is at list willing to have a crack at the goals, instead of trying to walk it in. Doddy, came into it a bit more in the second half, but I have to ask "is he fit"?

There are serious problems with our right side at the moment, with most of the danger against Gamba and Melbourne coming down that side. I hope this is looked at by the super coach as soon as is humanly possible. It's probably best I don't put down my comments on our right sided midfielder and right back at the moment...

Finally in the long winded random rant, If I ever see one of the so called "cheer squad/red machine" whatever the hell they call themselves throw another bottle on the field I will not be able to be held responsible for my actions. It is the most ridiculous thing to do...dangerous, makes the club look pathetic and anyone seen doing it should be belted and then tossed out of the ground for life....

Rant over

[Dirko]

Was at the game last night...

Fantastic post Jase. I Won't quote it all, but you get my gist. You are right the bottle throwing morons, need a good smacking.
Birighitti won't be at United next year. Some club in Europe will pick him up for their youth team/reserves and groom him for the Number 1.

Onward and upward.....

[BJ Ernest]

Good points there guys. The atmosphere was alive for 5 minutes but everyones faint hopes were dashed when Lucas put the ball in the back of the neck. Their one touch control is on a different level to ours, and their general speed and field play is superb. Is it me or did they just run straight at Cornthwaite all night?? Their speedy players made him look silly and the Lucas goal after a good Birighitti save made Valkanis look like he was wearing cement boots!

Fantastic effort Reds on getting all the way and even stumbling at the final post has done wonders for soccer in this state and country!

[MightyEagles]

Our budget $2 mill
Their budget about $30 mill

[Dogwatcher]

Ugggghhhh of well.
Hope you blokes enjoyed the beers.

[Swooper16]

Probably not going to add anything that hasnt been said already but really enjoyed watching Gamba over the 2 legs. Their touch and control under pressure and in tight spaces was far superior then anything we see in the A-League. On the positive side of things playing against an outfit like this should see us improve in the domestic comp. Also i really like young jamieson at left back - not afraid to get stuck in and has some nice touches. Fingers crossed we dont lose Cassio to a big offer (i know he recently signed a new contract but i think it has a release clause) and i would be surprised now that the Japanese sides would be chasing Dodd as hard after this.

Also hope people got on the $4 for Gamba Osaka

[the joker]

Lets be honest, this proves 1 of 2 things, and make no mistake sensational effort by the reds to get to the final but,

1)adelaide were lucky to get to the final

or

2) the A-league is no where near as good as what people think or say it is as gamba osaka are 7th in the J-league

just my opnions, be kind as i dont know SFA about soccer

By the way its 2-0 after 34 mins when i wrote this

The one thing wrong with Your Argument is that Adelaide Knocked Kashima Antlers,
and they are top of the J league.

[Dogwatcher]

There are variables though - it would be interesting to look back and see how Kashima were positioned in the domestic competition and whether they played their full strength squad, did they take Adelaide too lightly?

The fact Japan had three teams reach the later stages of the comp and that they've won it two years in a row suggests there is a gulf between the J-League and other competitions.

The two things Australian soccer can take out of this is:

A) The comp has a long way to go, despite the strides it's taken in such a short time.
B) That no other Australian side should be 'happy' to just make the final. Adelaide's broken that duck and Australian teams should now take their chances in getting to the pointy end of the tournament more seriously.

[Pidge]

Adelaide were clearly outclassed on the night. There was not a great deal of understanding between defenders and goalkeeper especially early on. This would be due to the loss of Costanzo and Galekovic. The midfielders were not closing down Gamba's playmakers quick enough and weren't getting back to help often enough.

The were 3 clear penalties that should have been given in the second half. The refereeing was not good.

One Question I ask is, When in search for goals early on in the match, why did Vidmar decide to have Spagnuolo and Pantelis on the bench? I would have thought at least one of them would have started.

Travis Dodd played well in the second half and was giving his all for the team. It was good to see some of the Gamba players individually go over to him after the game. Good sportsmanship on their behalf.

It was also quite funny to hear all the booing when Ben Buckley was introduced onto the stage.

But overall Well Done Adelaide United on making the final in the first place. It was considered a huge achievement to get out of the group stages, but to make the final is just fantastic.

[the big bang]

sorry guys, not tto sue how this ACL thingy works, so forgive if i'm wrong, but does this mean that Melbourne Victory play in it next year or whats the go?

[brod]

as only a part time soccer fan, it has certainly made me sit up and take more notice of the club and the sport in general.

That's the added bonus. People take notice, KIDS take notice, and if Kids take notice and get an interest then the game blossoms.....

Was the second story I think this morning on the BBC World sports report that they play on TAB Sports Breakfast this morning..even if they did call it HINMARSH STADIUM

[Wedgie]

sorry guys, not tto sue how this ACL thingy works, so forgive if i'm wrong, but does this mean that Melbourne Victory play in it next year or whats the go?

Victory played in it this season but got knocked out early on.
Next season if it remains consistent it will be Central Coast and Newcastle.
Its a bit weird but has to be done this way because of the way the A-League is strucured but basically you don't qualify for the Asian Cup that's about to happen when you become Minor Premiers or Champions, you qualify for the year after that hence why Adelaide and Melbourne were in this years.

[Tooting Bec]

Did any one see Rebecca Wilsons joke of an article in the tiser today? Just another uneducated eastern states journalist who rather than praising united, with all of the hurdles they had to overcome just to reach the finals, has rammed the knife straight into the jugular.
What a joke of a reporter what a joke of a paper for letting that article be printed! Shouldn't she be commenting on something she has actually played? Like netball? Oh that's right she was n't vry good at that either

Go you Reds! We are proud of the lads and what they have achieved and lets stick it up em as old teddy whitten used to say and win the whole bloody A- league!!!

[Dogwatcher]

I thought there were some interesting points in it.
Don't bury your head in the sand because it's Rebecca Wilson and because it's questioning soccer.

Read my post above and I mention that the ACL final showed the gulf between the J and A Leagues. She also said that.

There were points I didn't agree with totally - but she was right about several things, particularly the question marks over the A League expansion.

As for bagging her because she's never played the sport....pretty funny considering you've come to a forum where people discuss (for example) Aussie rules, soccer, music, books and other topics yet may have never played the game or created music or written a book.

[JK]

To be fair though mate, the difference is that she comments as part of her profession, whereas most of us here just share our thoughts.

I don't disagree with a far amount of what she said, although there was an element of sniper in parts.

I certainly disagree with the whole "death of soccer in Oz" angle.

[Tooting Bec]

Maybe yes it did have some valid points in it dogwatcher but i just thought it was coming from an angle that was just bagging adelaide united and their acheivements. Totally agree with some points re the gulf between the a and j leagues and what will happen to the standard when the next 2 teams come in, but i thought the rest of the article was total carp.

[JK]

Unfortunately, despite any reasons (valid or otherwise), so far United have underachieved, unfortunately that's fact and something we can't hide behind.

Inaugural Minor Premier that didn't make it to the Grand Final, an infamous drubbing in a GF and now yet another drubbing in title decider.

The ACL is a different kettle of fish as we all know in terms of $ and quality, but I think Adelaide's progression this year will help all A-League teams in their future planning and endeavours in the competition, whilst also increasing the player trade market between the 2 continents.

[Dogwatcher]

To be fair though mate, the difference is that she comments as part of her profession, whereas most of us here just share our thoughts.

I don't disagree with a far amount of what she said, although there was an element of sniper in parts.

I certainly disagree with the whole "death of soccer in Oz" angle.

No one ever bags Mike Sheahan because he never played a game.....

She wasn't saying it is dying, she was pointing out deficiencies that could seriously impact on the game in the future and could lead to the situation we experienced with the old NSL.

The A League has avoided plenty of negative publicity regarding the standard of play until now as everyone wants it to succeed. Adelaide's journey through the ACL showed us the differences in standard and how far the league has to actually go still.

Wilson's always got a fair degree of venom behind her writing but she does also often speak some sense. Sometimes people's dislike of her means we miss the message.

BTW I can't stand her and figure the reason soccer caught her attention this week is because no Aussie rules or leage players had been bad boys this week and she had no reason to have a go at unprofessional men.

[JK]

To be fair though mate, the difference is that she comments as part of her profession, whereas most of us here just share our thoughts.

I don't disagree with a far amount of what she said, although there was an element of sniper in parts.

I certainly disagree with the whole "death of soccer in Oz" angle.

No one ever bags Mike Sheahan because he never played a game.....

I think you'll find some do, but it's irrelevant anyway as Im not getting stuck into her, I used to like her on "The Fat" but the majority of her written material almost seems to be deliberately inflammatory.

She wasn't saying it is dying, she was pointing out deficiencies that could seriously impact on the game in the future and could lead to the situation we experienced with the old NSL.

Ok she might not have expressly used those words, but there was negative-perilous undertone throughout virtually the entire article, which whilst acknowledging the lack of standard in the A-League (which every serious football follower always has), shouldn't be necessary, it's not on it's deathbed.

Wilson's always got a fair degree of venom behind her writing but she does also often speak some sense. Sometimes people's dislike of her means we miss the message.

I agree, but I can assure you that's not the case in my instance, I always like to hear people's thoughts even if i dont agree with them.