Soca Warriors Online Discussion Forum
Sports => Football => Topic started by: Small Magician aka Wazza on December 18, 2008, 06:30:42 AM
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FT United 5-3
6 goals in the last 15 mins lol... we dominated till the 85th then got sloppy and conceded 2...we were 5-1 up at the time
onto the final
glory glory
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good game, Gamba Osaka wasn't scared to play United.
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Gamba Osaka gave a very good account of themselves....Credit to Van der Saar for keeping Manu in the game...
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Comment: Manchester United Won But Gamba Osaka Did Asia Proud
Manchester United may have won 5-3 but Gamba Osaka did Asian football proud in the semi-final of FIFA's Club World Cup...
Conceding five is never nice and those five second-half minutes were positively nasty. Gamba Osaka should not be too down-hearted though. Manchester United have been the best team of 2008 and had an extra gear when it mattered.
It is hard not to get caught up in what sounds like an inferiority complex when writing this kind of article. ‘At least they competed,’ or ‘at least they showed that Asian teams can play good football’.
But that is what happened. Gamba gave as good as they got for most of the game, took the game to the European champions and could have scored more.
This was a better game than the one between Urawa Reds and AC Milan a year ago. It was a taste of the Premier League just south of Tokyo.
This is a competition much-maligned, or perhaps, mostly ignored in England and Europe, and the format is a bit of a mess. Games like this however are what it needs. Two teams that enjoyed themselves, scored lots of goals, gave the fans a show and played the game in a great spirit - this is as good as the FIFA Club World Cup has ever got.
Gamba played their part in that and were impressive in their staying power. It has been a long season for the club. The J-League season ended earlier this month and the Asian Champions League is a tough tournament with travelling that European teams only experience when they come to places like Tokyo. And while the thoughtful coach Akira Nishino will not be happy to concede five, his team showed it can attack with pace, precision and penetration.
When the game went to 2-1, there was a sense that Gamba could do something. That was quickly replaced with a sense that the J-Leaguers had simply succeeded in waking a beast that had been gently content with a 2-0 lead. Three goals came in stunning succession. But Gamba came back to ensure that the scoreline was respectable.
Nobody would pretend that Asian football is at the level of its European equivalent but as Park Ji-sung said this week, the gap is closing and it is moving in the right direction. United have the power and savviness that the Japanese team don’t yet have - as well as Wayne Rooney.
Gamba do have Endo but it remains to be seen for how long. The midfielder has been edging out of Nakamura’s shadow for some time and it was another good performance by the hero with the hairband. He said last month that he would like a move to Europe and, if nothing else, this tournament has certainly thrust him into the international spotlight – not bad timing with the transfer window opening in just a couple of weeks.
Endo wasn’t the only one and while Gamba will be disappointed with the defeat, it is a game that will not quickly be forgotten. 2008 will also live long in the memory for Gamba Osaka fans –it has been a good year.
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J-League football is high. Its troubling to me why Spann did not stay there when he can back to represent TnT he was great. ???
Regards
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Maybe he was not good enough or did not want to learn Japanese.
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Endo was impressive for the Japanese squad, would be surprised if his stock price doesn't go up after this competition
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Gamba Osaka gave a very good account of themselves....Credit to Van der Saar for keeping Manu in the game...
Yes they did and I think we starting to see the early signs of van Der Saar's end to an exceptional career. He starting to look slower than his normal slow and two of them goals beat 'im first-post where I doubt they woulda beat 'im a year ago. He's still a boss, though.