A triumph by any means of the word

Much was speculated about the trip to Osaka. From the flights to the game plan to the opposition – if it was all to be believed we would have been chasing the impossible victory.

Adelaide United CEO Glenn Elliott provides an insight and a few facts about the journey…
Much was speculated about Adelaide United’s challenging trip to Osaka for its latest ACL match. The trip, the game plan, the opposition – if it was all to be believed we would have been chasing the impossible victory.

Travel from behind the scenes
Put yourself in this sporting position – you spend 24 hours travelling to a new place where you don’t speak the language, don’t know the customs, don’t eat the food and don’t know your way around. That was the challenge United-s travelling party confronted in Osaka. Meticulous preparation and a willingness to accept the challenge confronting us allowed us to succeed.

The Trip
Our preferred travel company and official travel sponsor, Jetset Travel Glynde, through Rick and John, provided a fantastic itinerary to a difficult destination given the team-s requirements for the match. Adelaide to Kuala Lumpur with a stopover was no issue as the players all had access to a private room with dinner included at a five star hotel on site at the airport. A late night connection to Osaka followed with a one hour bus trip to the hotel.

The Hotel
We experienced a two hour delay upon arrival after which every aspect of our stay was first class. Meals and service were first class, and proximity to the Gamba training facilities and match stadium certainly justified not being in the city centre itself – after all, the team was there to play a game, not on a social visit.

Training
The squad trained on Monday afternoon, having arrived in Osaka that morning. Any significant fatigue was nowhere to be seen, the sheer joy at being able to utilise such high quality facilities obvious to all. In fact, on that training alone it was evident that the players- confidence grew. From there it only got better when the team had access to the Expo -70 Stadium on Tuesday morning. Kossie and the players could not have asked for better training facilities.

The Match
Playing a premier team such as Gamba Osaka is full of uncertainty, particularly as they had no chance of qualifying for the next stage. Much was made of whether they would ‘rest- a host of their big names but even with that being the case, the quality of the players that did run out proved these clubs have depth that Australian clubs can currently only dream about. But all credit to our players, the fantastic attitude evidenced at every moment of the trip was there for all to see come game time. The commitment of the players in taking ownership of the coach-s plans epitomised the disciplined approach the team has had throughout this ACL campaign.

The Crowd
Just over 7,000 dedicated Gamba fans attended the match. The number may have disappointed some but it certainly makes Adelaide’s crowd numbers impressive in comparison to population. Colour, drums, singing – Gamba fans bring it to every game. And the respect shown to both their own and our players was great to see. Despite the fact their side lost, many in the crowd were extremely generous in their applause for our boys. Likewise, after the match when our team bus was leaving, a number of their supporters continued to applaud.

Gamba the Club
Adelaide United was privy to guided tours through all Gamba-s facilities – and what a place it is! Some 34 staff are spread over two levels of office/facility space. The club has an intense junior and academy program, three training pitches for the seniors alone and plans for a new 40,000 seat stadium. The game apart, Gamba Osaka was the consummate host.

Team effort
Much has been said about the performance, and quite rightly so, but to the people who helped make it happen: