NEWS

Gamba Osaka downed Adelaide United 2-0 in Australia on the back of two strikes by Brazilian forward Lucas in the second leg of the AFC Champions League final on Wednesday.

The win gave Gamba a 5-0 aggregate victory in the final, which meant they claimed the Asian title for the first time.
The win also qualifies the north Osaka club for next month’s FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2008 presented by Toyota.
Gamba became the second J. League club to win the Asian club competition under the current format, following last year’s victory by Urawa Reds. Gamba pocketed US$600,000 in prize money.
Gamba midfielder Yasuhito Endo was named the tournament’s MVP.
“Our players played well under various kinds of pressure,” Gamba manager Akira Nishino said. “I thought it would be good to win in a convincing manner, and I’m glad we achieved that.”
Playing before a crowd of 17,000 at Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide, the Australians needed to score three goals to cancel out the 3-0 deficit from the first-leg in Osaka a week ago.
But it was Gamba who took the upper hand just four minutes into the game. After Hayato Sasaki’s attempt from outside the box was denied by Adelaide goalkeeper Mark Birighitti, Lucas reacted quickly and fired in the rebound from close range.
With Adelaide forced to come forward, Gamba took advantage of the space in midfield to play their passing game.
In the 15th minute, Lucas latched on to a through pass from midfielder Takahiro Futagawa and skillfully steered the ball past the Adelaide keeper to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.
Gamba, led by Japan international Endo, stayed in control of the game and manager Nishino increased the pressure on the hosts after the break by bringing on forward Masato Yamazaki – who had scored eight goals in the tournament – in the 59th minute.
Meanwhile, Adelaide, who were previously unbeaten at home in the competition, attempted to rally in the second half by sending on more attacking players.
But the J. League players were able to keep control and rack up the largest ever margin of victory in the ACL final.
 “Becoming Asian champions is something special not only for our club but also for me,” Endo said. “I’d like to celebrate this together with the players and the staff, who couldn’t come here.”
“I’m also really happy that we won the tournament without any defeats, which I believe proved the strength of Gamba.”
Endo added: “We played attacking and enjoyable football throughout the tournament. It was fun to play and we scored a lot, particularly in the semifinals and the final. We won those in a convincing manner.”
Gamba didn’t lose any games, winning all six away games and scoring 17 of their 27 goals on the road. They only conceded 11 goals. The Osaka club won the group stage with a 4-2-0 win-draw-loss record before completing the knockout stage with a 5-1-0 record.
“We planned to play aggressively and decide the game in the first half,” Nishino explained. “Our players were able to do this from the start of the game, and that was the moment I was convinced that we would make it.”
Asked how confident his side was after their victory in the first leg, Nishino replied, “The first leg success brought us confidence, but that didn’t mean we’d won the title, as we still had to play away from home.”
“Since this was our second appearance in the ACL, I thought we should prove that we were better than the last time in 2006. But to be honest, I was not expecting to have a final like this. This was our target for the season, and I’m delighted that we won it.”
JFA President Motoaki Inukai commented, “It’s significant for Japanese football that J. League clubs have won back-to-back ACL titles, and it is wonderful that Gamba won it with their own brand of football. I hope they can demonstrate the standard of the J. League in the Club World Cup, too.”
The AFC Champions League will be transformed into a new competition from next season, with the one-off final being held at the National Stadium in Tokyo in 2009.