Nishino eyes United upset
17/12/2008 16:53
Gamba Osaka coach Akira Nishino was in a defiant mood ahead of their FIFA
Club World Cup clash against European champions Manchester United, saying human
frailty could prove to be their downfall today.
The Asian champions take on
Alex Ferguson's star-studded line-up in the semifinals of the inter-continental
club tournament on Thursday after struggling to beat Australia's Adelaide United
1-0 in the quarterfinals.
English champions United possess greater strength,
skills and experience. But with the players still recovering after a long
journey from England, Nishino remains hopeful.
"Ferguson may be Ferguson, but
I like to think he's human too," Nishino was quoted by the official website of
the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as saying on Wednesday. "The same goes
for Manchester United and Gamba. We will face them without fear."
Yasuhito
Endo scored Gamba's only goal against Adelaide, who were beaten 5-0 on aggregate
by Nishino's men in the AFC Champions League final last month.
The Japanese
league side are handicapped by injuries to attacking midfielders Takahiro
Futagawa and Hayato Sasaki, who were stretchered off during their win over
Adelaide on Sunday.
Ferguson, who has a full squad to choose from, picked out
Endo as Gamba's main danger man after watching the match against Adelaide on
video.
"He (Endo) is their star player," said Ferguson. "Not only did he
score the decisive goal, he was the influential player in terms of possession of
the ball."
Xinhua
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