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AFC Champions League Two
The Japanese side overcame tremendous pressure to edge Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr Club 1-0 in the final at the King Saud University Stadium, with the victory built on defensive grit and complete focus.
#ACLTwo | Final : Al Nassr Club (KSA) 0-1 Gamba Osaka (JPN)
“This is a great day for all of us - the club, players and the fans. We deserved to win the title. What my players did today against a very good side was amazing,” said the German tactician.
“We never stopped believing in ourselves and we kept running till the end. Al Nassr are a great side but my players fought till the final whistle. They kept their concentration and made sure we stuck to the gameplan.”
“We never stopped believing in ourselves and we kept running till the end. Al Nassr are a great side but my players fought till the final whistle. They kept their concentration and made sure we stuck to the gameplan.”
Deniz Hummet’s’s wonderful opportunistic strike in the 30th minute was Gamba’s only shot on target as Wissing’s side then produced a defensive masterclass to deny Al Nassr a goal for the first time in 11 matches.
The closest Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates came to beating 18-year-old Gamba custodian Rui Araki was when Joao Felix hit the upright in the 77th minute, with Wissing saying the plan had always been to deny Al Nassr scoring opportunities.
“They are a team who have many wonderful players who can score at any time. Our way of playing is to attack as we wanted to keep them away from our goalmouth. The players never took it for granted that victory was ours until the final blow of the whistle.”
The closest Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates came to beating 18-year-old Gamba custodian Rui Araki was when Joao Felix hit the upright in the 77th minute, with Wissing saying the plan had always been to deny Al Nassr scoring opportunities.
“They are a team who have many wonderful players who can score at any time. Our way of playing is to attack as we wanted to keep them away from our goalmouth. The players never took it for granted that victory was ours until the final blow of the whistle.”
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The victory meant Gamba have now added the AFC Champions League Two trophy to the AFC Champions League™ title won in 2008 and Wissing said the win will give his players confidence, with the Japanese side to play in the AFC Champions League Elite™ next season.
“It is a major boost and they will gain. However, my players are very experienced and they will know how to deal with it. For now, we will savour the win as we thoroughly deserve it.”
“It is a major boost and they will gain. However, my players are very experienced and they will know how to deal with it. For now, we will savour the win as we thoroughly deserve it.”
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