Australia NewsGumps: Hit Them Hard Boys |
EXCLUSIVE: Adelaide United are being urged to seize the initiative against Bunyodkor in the Asian Champions League semi-final first leg at a sold-out Hindmarsh.
The match is arguably the biggest game in the history of Australian club football, rivaling that of South Melbourne and Sydney FC's forays into the World Club Championships.And with the Uzbek side flying in on a privately chartered plane on Monday with a touring part of 70, the visiting players are expected to shake off the effects of the long travel by Wednesday night.
Central Coast Mariners star Andre Gumprecht says he'd like to see Bunyodkor's star man Rivaldo man-marked while the Reds push for an advantage in the first leg.
"Rivaldo is still a quality player. His technique is unquestionable. But if you put a young desperate guy on his heels, he won't like it," he told au.fourfourtwo.com.
"And I reckon Adelaide have a couple of those guys who can do that job."
Gumprecht says with the travel factor, the Reds need three points to buttress them from the expected onslaught in Tashkent in the return leg on the 22nd of the month.
"They [Adelaide] have to go for a win. Really, you have to hit them hard and by surprise.
"It's an absolute journey for both sides to make it to this other country, so at home you have to get at them."
Gumprecht is hoping he gets a chance to play in the ACL when the Mariners make their tournament debut in 2009. Meantime he'll be hoping Adelaide can do Australia proud in what looms as another exciting night of Champions League football.
"I'm absolute fan of Adelaide and what they've done... It shows an incredible work ethic."
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