The prestige and rarity of Tuesday night’s game against Gamba and the Reds’ other two home games in the ACL is something that does not come around every day.
The prestige and rarity of Tuesday night-s game against Gamba and the Reds- other two home games in the ACL is something that does not come around every day.
It could be said that Adelaide-s sporting public have been privileged and spoilt to have had the chance to witness first hand some of Asia-s biggest clubs in their own backyard.
While the likes of Gamba Osaka have graced the field at Hindmarsh Stadium before, the difficulty for sides in the Hyundai A-League, like all of the leagues across Asia, to qualify for the AFC Champions League means the opportunity to see clubs of the calibre of Gamba up close is few and far between.
When speaking about the quality of the AFC Champions League and how momentous an occasion it is to be able to take on Gamba Osaka and a team in Japan-s best competition again, Coach John Kosmina reinforced the point.
“The J-League improves incrementally season by season and it is one of the best competitions in the world from a technical viewpoint,” Kosmina said.
Over 16,000 people crammed into Hindmarsh Stadium when Gamba Osaka last came to town. That may have been for the 2nd and deciding leg of the 2008 AFC Champions League Final, but it was a crowd and an atmosphere befitting of how good the competition is. For all of those who were there to witness it, you can be sure that they can still recount how amazing the atmosphere around the stadium was that day.
Tuesday night-s game may only be Match Day 2 of the Group stage, but it is simply an opportunity not to be missed. This may be the Reds- record fourth appearance in the ACL and because of this, Tuesday night could be viewed as just another game, but it is not often the South Australian public gets the chance to see Adelaide United take on a club of the ilk of Gamba Osaka.
Tickets for the match and 3-Match Super Tickets are available through Ticketek.
