YOKOHAMA-Sir Alex Ferguson added another piece of silverware to his extensive trophy cabinet on Sunday with Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Liga de Quito of Ecuador in the final of the Club World Cup. The longtime coach of the Red Devils was delighted by the performance of his club and said the win will act as a springboard to better things ahead in 2009. Following are excerpts from his post-match press conference: Q: Defender Nemanja Vidic was sent off in the second half. How did that affect your play? A: It affected the penetration we showed in the first half. After his sending off we had to be more disciplined and make sure we didn't concede. And I began to wonder if we were going to extra time. To play with 10 men with that long to go would have been a long road. But in fairness we played with good expression and still tried to win the match and that's a measure of the ambitious players we have, so I was pleased with the performance. Q: Wayne Rooney was named player of the tournament, do you think that was deserved? A: Well I think he was the player of the game, there’s no doubt about that. I think he deserved it. Because I think he could have scored two or three times in the first half. It was a very, very good performance from him and a magnificent goal. I’ve seen him do that a lot, coming off the left side and bending it in with his right foot, and it was another example of that ability he has. Q: With all the talk of jetlag and fatigue, why does Rooney seem have this limitless energy when other players look slightly less energized? A: Well, people handle traveling differently. I was speaking to Edwin Van Der Sar this morning, and he said two day’s ago he a great sleep but last night he had a terrible sleep. Last night was the first night I slept more than two hours. Everyone’s different. You hope they all can handle it but that’s not the case. I think it showed in the last 20 minutes of the game on Thursday night when the game became too open for us. But tonight our discipline was very good and it had to be because you can’t leave gaps when you go down to 10 men. Q: Were you more concerned about the offense of Quito than that of Gamba Osaka? You made some changes to your lineup tonight. A: No, we made one change, Rafael Da Silva on for Gary Neville. I think that was the correct thing to do. At 34 years age, Gary needs more rest now, three days or so. You have to compliment Gamba for the quality of their game. I watched them again today and they could have scored 4 or 5 goals in the first half. Their quality, in particular Yasuhito Endo … nobody on Quito had the quality Endo’s got, for example. You have to admire their quality. Q: You created a lot of opportunities, especially in the first half, but couldn’t find the back of the net. What were you thinking substitution-wise in the second half? A: I felt we had to be more disciplined and not to concede. Had we lost a goal we would have lost the game. The important thing was to stay patient and hope either Cristiano Ronaldo or Rooney could do something special for us. I also thought extra time could have been a big possibility, which is why I didn’t make any substitutions until late in the game. Once we scored I could think about who could protect the lead and that's why I brought on Neville and Darren Fletcher. We've only scored 8 goals away from home this season, which is not good enough. But we've played with great expression and imagination and we have players who can entertain and in normal situations we can score goals. Hopefully that will change in the new year. Q: What does winning this competition do for you as a club? A: I think it will be a good springboard for us. We’ve come a long way. It may have been difficult for us to go to Stoke (on Boxing day in the Premier League) had we lost. I think it’s difficult to come back after losing a big tournament like this. But we’ve won it, so I think there will be a bounce at the club. It won't be easy, no games in the Premiership are. But it does give us a platform to start playing with a real purpose to our game now and to chase the leaders. For me personally, I said earlier it would be nice to look back in 30 years and see that Manchester United was world champion. I won't be able to enjoy this 30 years from now, but I will enjoy it next year. Q: After Vidic’s expulsion, I know you must have been concerned. But what was your mindset keeping Ronaldo and Rooney on and bring Carlos Tevez off? A: We’ve been in that situation before. Rooney has such great energy to play as an attacker, to defend as a midfield player and he has such a great tenacity to do these things. Tevez was disappointed to have come off, but it was the only thing I could do. But as soon as I took Tevez off I though to myself, crikey, it could go to penalties and I've just taken Tevez off. But of course, Rooney scored the only goal so it didn’t matter. I thought we played sensible football compared to how we played in the first half. Q: What was the key to your victory tonight and what is your impression of Quito and the South American style of football? A: I think the collective spirit of the team won the day, particularly when we went down to 10 men . I think it's a fantastic tournament. We’re here because we won the European Cup and we’re here to represent England and Europe. At the end of the day you always expect to play a South American team. Maybe we’ve played against better South American teams in the past … I think we were comfortable winners today but when you get to a final, you have still got to win it. And you can lose games like that because the game was so slow in the first half and although we made chances you start to worry that one counterattack could cost us. And if we had went behind tonight it would have been very difficult for us because the South American mentality is different from other places in that they can defend, as we saw tonight many times. Copyright © C.G. Williams & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

YOKOHAMA—Liga de Quito’s Argentine coach Edgardo Bauza announced that he was quitting the club at the end of the Club World Cup. While Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Manchester United in the final came as a disappointment, the former Argentina national team player nevertheless had an exceptional year with the club, steering it to a first-ever Copa Libertadores win for an Ecuadorian side. Following are excerpts from his final press conference as Liga de Quito boss: Q: Despite the loss are you proud of your team? A: I mentioned earlier that I didn't know what would happen tonight. I am very proud of my players. Both teams came to Japan to win. We were defeated and it's sad. We're depressed but we know we were the underdogs. We are very happy to have come so far. It took about 20 minutes for us to get used to Manchester and the atmosphere. Some of our players played very well in the first half and overall I consider it a draw. United went down a man and we were unable to take advantage of it. Our counterattack wasn't effective. Q: Did you feel you didn't take enough risks? A: We wanted to. I changed from four defenders to three when I brought off defender Paul Ambrosi. In the last 10 minutes we had two or three chances to score and we didn't capitalize. I wanted speedier movement on the flanks and I changed to three defenders, which is the pattern of attack that I prefer. Q: Your team played very bravely today and you showed that you were equal with United in many respects. A: I think we have to analyze the game. Were we equal? I don't think so. Our players were looking for opportunities and couldn't. We tried to impose our style but couldn't because of the greatness of our opponent. Q: What was your overall strategy for today’s match? A: Actually, our strategy was to try not to retreat too much because United, when they have the ball, always have the ability to score. In the second half I told my players to move the backline higher, but United were using three forwards and Park Ji-sung was there as well so we couldn't do what we wanted on the pitch. I used (attacking midfielder Alejandro) Manso more in the second half to produce more of an attack. Q: Was your team nervous today? A: No, for the first 15 minutes we tried to stop United's passing. They created two great opportunities to score. We had to be patient early but we struggled even harder than we expected and had a poor first half. But I thought we had more possession as the game progressed. Q: What do you say to the people in Ecuador? A: It's a little complex. First, I am really satisfied to be a part of this team and to represent Ecuador here. It is really important for my career and this experience will remain with all of us. We are sad that we didn't have enough power to win, and I thought we could make United struggle more. They are a great team and we are proud to have played them. I have finished a cycle here and am glad to end my time with the club on this note. I hope the people of Ecuador are happy with our performance. Copyright © C.G. Williams & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

YOKOHAMA—Gamba Osaka finished third at the Club World Cup with a 1-0 win over Mexico’s Pachuca at Yokohama International Stadium on Sunday. Afterward, the typically cheerless Akira Nishino gave his thoughts on the match, the tournament and about being “killed” by Manchester United. Q: Can we have some comments on your impression of the match? A: Well, I wouldn’t say it was an ideal football match for us today but we were able to play against Pachuca, who play a Central American footballing style. We respect them a lot and are very honored to have played them. We played three different clubs from three continents at this tournament, all of whom are well-known and respected clubs. We are very happy about that. At the same time, we played our own game, Gamba Osaka’s style, and we were able to get this result. Our players were not afraid and they were full of challenging spirit, so I believe this match will lead us to the next step in our development. Having said that, we lost some players to injury and all of the players are extremely tired now so we were unable to play at 100 percent at this tournament. Under the circumstances, we did our best. Rather than euphoric, our players are very tired. But with upcoming (Emperor’s Cup) matches, maybe they are not ready to celebrate. We used everything we had at this tournament and I think it was a great experience for Gamba Osaka. Q: With Gamba finishing third this year at the CWC and Urawa Reds doing the same last year, what does it say about the strength of the J-League? A: I don’t really care about how the Reds did last year. That has nothing to do with our result today. As representatives of the J-League, yes it was the Reds last year and us this year but our approach is totally different to theirs. We have a different style as a team and as a club. Of course to participate in this tournament we have to win the ACL and this year three J-League teams participated in the ACL. This year I think the mission of the J-League, to move to a higher stage, was fully achieved by Gamba. We are sometimes compared to Urawa Reds and what they achieved last season but I’m not really sure it’s an appropriate comparison. Q: What advice did you give your defenders today? A: I told them that Pachuca uses short passes and have very good technique. They also have a totally different playing style to Manchester United. I told the defenders to press hard and not be afraid to push forward. I also told them to stay compact along with the midfielders, and to not defend against the players but to defend against the passes. We were able to do this to some extent, however, they were really good at breaking our formation and creating space. We did well, however, ideally I would have liked our backline to have pressed even harder. In the first half, our backline was about 10 meters behind where it should have been. So in the second half I told them to run more, even if it was quite difficult for them, to move the line up. Unfortunately, they were unable to do so and line retreated even further. But for 10 to 20 minutes we were able to press ahead and respond positively. Q: When you compete on the world stage again, would you change your approach? Have you learned anything that makes you think you need to change your style when playing against teams from other countries? A: When we played against Manchester United and Pachuca we had to come up with different approaches. It all depends on who we play against. Of course we do have a basis, our foundation, but we have to be flexible. Depending on the situation, on the opponent, we need different tactics. For those two teams we were able to play with a certain target. Will this work in other matches against other opponents? Not necessarily. Q: Why did you make the two substitutions you did in the second half? A: I replaced Ryuji Bando because I didn’t want to be too defensive and I thought he was tiring and not able to run enough. So I replaced him in an effort to get a second goal. By brining on Takahiro Futagawa for Bando, I was sending a message to my team to continue pushing forward. Bando missed so many good scoring opportunities. He was unable to capitalize, which is what I told him when he came off. I also wanted to use Futagawa because he was injured in the first match against Adelaide. He can create a lot of chances. As for bringing Takuya Takei on for Lucas, I wanted to kill the flanks during the last 15 minutes. I wanted our midfielders to be more defensive at that point. Q: Will you be able to leverage your performance here to your advantage during the upcoming Emperor’s Cup campaign? A: It was a great challenge for us to play in this tournament and I think we have to analyze the lessons we’ve learned here. Otherwise, there is no point to be at this tournament. We need to reflect but we don’t have the time because we have to play on the 25th against Nagoya. We can’t leverage what we’ve learned here in that match. It is too early. Our players are so tired and it will be very difficult for us to fully prepare for our next match. I just hope my players can fully recover from the fatigue. But to be sure, our three matches at this tournament will be a great contribution to our development at Gamba Osaka. Q: I hope my question doesn’t overlap a previous one but … Manchester United killed your movement on the ball. Will you continue playing in the same style or will you make changes to your approach? A: Are you talking about Manchester United? Do you want me to analyze Manchester United? Q: No, no, no. What I am saying … I think the match against United really showed Gamba’s strengths and weaknesses … A: You just told me that Manchester United killed us. That is a horrible thing to say. And I can’t believe you said that. It was a great opponent and we were not sure how we could exploit our strengths. It’s natural that Manchester would come out and try to neutralize our game, but we tried and we scored and we created a number of scoring opportunities. It means something. We learned something. Their style is very simple. One, two, three touches and then shoot. Everybody chased the ball and we learned that if we kept things simple, we could also score. It’s not only about Gamba Osaka. We played against a very good team. Although we wanted to try a lot of things and had a very good imagination, it’s true that Manchester tried to kill that imagination. But at times we were able to show our game and we got the result we did because of that. Copyright © C.G. Williams & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

YOKOHAMA—A day before Manchester United’s Club World Cup semifinal showdown with Japan’s Gamba Osaka, Sir Alex Ferguson was playing his cards close to his chest regarding his starting XI. He did say, however, that he intended to rely on three of his most experienced players—Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville—to see his club into the final. Following are excerpts from a press conference prior to training at Yokohama Stadium on Wednesday: Q: Who will you play against Gamba? A: Well, it's a complex situation. No one's asked me for that information yet, all they've asked me is what I think about the tournament. I will say this: Berbatov won't play tomorrow. He's been in bed since we arrived. He's picked up a virus. He's not very well at the moment. Wayne Rooney was injured in training yesterday but hopefully he'll be OK tomorrow. Other than that, everyone is fit. I can say that we will play some of our really experienced players like Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. It's a big-game situation and I think their experience will be important tomorrow. Other than that, I've got to decide the rest of the team. But it will be a strong team. Q: Scholes has recently come back from injury. How important is it for you to have him back in the squad? A: I think he brings an order to our game at times. We saw that in the second half against Aalborg (in the Champions League last week). He helped us get us back in the match and to gain control of the match. He's been a fantastic player for us, it's hard to measure it other than to say he's always been good for us. When he was a younger player he used to get us 12 to 15 goals a season, but he can't do that now. And we don't ask him to. But he brings other things to our team-his experience, his ability to keep possession, to control a match. It's a fundamental part of our game. His intelligence on the football field is tremendous. Over the years when Paul has had injury problems, and he's had a few, he has come back very well. And we've seen in training that he's back to normal. He showed that against Aalborg and we're confident of that. He hasn't lost anything. Q: Will Ronaldo play tomorrow? A: Ronaldo will play tomorrow. Q: What do you think of the timing of this tournament? A: In football you don't get a choice. The dates are there and we accept that. There has been some cynicism back home abut this tournament, with some saying we're doing it only for the money (the winner pockets 5 million USD) to play here, which is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life. We're here because we've been invited here as winners of the European Cup. It's a FIFA-recognized tournament and there's no way we can get out of it. So the criticism is unfortunate. The most important thing about being here is that it's a chance to win something in December. To be world champions in December is a fantastic middle-of-the season boost to everyone and that's the way we look at it. Q: Do you think you'll ever see players in the vein of Scholes, Giggs and Neville play for a club at such a high level for as long as they have? A: I think it's unlikely. I think we're a very fortunate club. We're the only club who can do that. Ryan has done 21 years, Gary 19 and Paul Scholes 19 years. And that is exceptional, absolutely exceptional. We hope we can get players who can do that for us on a regular basis but in modern terms and through contracts, I think it's unlikely. Q: Do you think you've ever had such depth in a squad during your 22 years managing United? A: No, I think this is our best squad in my time. We've got 23 players here and the only one who lacks any experience at all is our backup goalkeeper Ben Amos, but he's replacing our other goalkeeper Ben Foster who’s broken a finger in training. All the rest are of a high quality and most are internationals. I think it’s only Rafael Da Silva who is not an international. And there is difficulty in that, of course, because it’s difficult to manage such players. And it becomes a disappointment because you can't play everyone. Here we can have 12 players on the bench but in England it’s only improved this season to seven substitutes. You have no idea how much that helps the coach. I don’t know why, perhaps the structure of the benches and dugouts in England limit the number of subs but to have as many subs as you want at your disposal … You know, to put an international in the stands is in some ways an insult to him. And it’s a problem for me because you feel embarrassed to ask a top player to not be involved in an actual game. They expect to play; they all want to play. I have the best squad I’ve had since I came to the club, but it does create certain management issues. Q: If Gamba were playing in England, would you say they would be in the Premiership, Championship or some other division? A: I can answer that tomorrow. Football is that kind of game. I would say Gamba ... the improvement in Japanese football is there for everybody to see. The great advantage is the facilities. The facilities are very good. And there is a genuine enthusiasm among the people, which generates fervor in the country and I think that is the strongest part of the game here. Watching the video, they have some talented players, there's no question about it. And if you look at Shunsuke Nakamura at Celtic—we’ve played him three times now in the last two or three years—he is proof of the overall quality of Japanese football. Q: How long can Scholes continue playing at the level he has been? A: He's not going to improve much now, is he? He's 34 and had some injuries over the years. We hope he can maintain the level he’s been at, a great level, for another year or two. It's tough for players who get injured in their 30s. For Paul, he'll continue to do what he does. I don't see any negatives about his game, so hopefully he can keep it going for a long time. Q: Do you have any message to the fans who have made the expensive trip here from Manchester? A: It's something that always amazes me about this club, especially at this time of year. As everyone knows, some families are not in the best financial situation back home but they make the sacrifice. I have great admiration for them. To come this far to watch a football team shows you how much they regard us. And it also tells you something about our football club. I hope they think it's worthwhile. Q: Do you think Neville has what it takes to regain his spot on the national team? Q: I think he and Wes Brown are the best right fullbacks. Wes is out at the moment. Gary and Wes both have the problem now that Da Silva has just taken off. But all the players, Gary included, think he is fantastic. In my experience at this club, for a right back to come in and make such an impact is incredible. Gary did the same when he was a youngster, he was part of a group who came in and they were sort of a band of brothers. Da Silva has come in from Brazil, doesn’t speak the language that well, but understands football very well. So Gary and Wes have a similar problem. If they're not getting regular games from me it makes it difficult for (England manager) Fabio Capello to pick them. I would. I have no problem with it, but Fabio doesn’t know them as well as I do. Q: Are you looking ahead to the final at the expense of Gamba? A: We want to win it and I hope I play the right team tomorrow. Sometimes you have to look a game ahead. I want to play a team that can beat Gamba Osaka, and then Sunday, if we’re in the final, I have different ideas. Q: The No. 7 jersey has been a significant number at United over the years. What was the thought process behind giving it to Cristiano after the departure of David Beckham? A: Well, No. 7 has been a special number at our club for many years. When Cristiano joined us, Beckham had just joined Madrid. There was an issue of who should get the No. 7 jersey, but I thought a young kid should get it, given that Beckham was a youngster who came through our system. We thought it would be more comfortable for a younger player to take the No. 7 jersey. But I don’t think Cristiano would have considered it an advantage when he joined us. But over the five years he’s been with us, I’ve seen him develop into the player he is today. But he’s always had certain attributes that have pointed him towards greatness--his amazing skill factor, his speed and his courage. And in the time he’s been with us, he’s developed what he needed to develop most: his decision-making. He used to play center forward. And people in Portugal used to tell us he was a great goal scorer. When he first came to us we couldn’t see that. And all of a sudden he just blossomed. In the first season with us I think he scored 9 goals, the next season it was 13 or 14 and the next season it was 20. Then last year it was 42. And that is a testament to a young person who wants to do well. He improves himself by his own determination and ambition and by practicing all the time. Copyright © C.G. Williams & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

YOKOHAMA—A day after arriving in Japan to take part in the Club World Cup, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson spoke to reporters on a range of subjects, from the team’s preparations to the Premier League’s controversial idea of holding a 39th round of matches outside of England. While Ferguson and his yawning retinue looked a little worse for wear after the 12-hour journey, the Scotsman was nevertheless in a jovial and talkative mood: Q: What is your impression of this tournament compared to the former Toyota Intercontinental Cup, which you won in 1999 by defeating Palmeras? A: We were the first British team to win (the Toyota Cup) in 1999, and we took great pleasure in it. It can be a great boost in prestige and that's why we want to win it again this year. It's a very difficult tournament and there are many good teams here. Our game against Gamba Osaka I think will be a very good game. It’s our first time in such a tournament. When we were here in 1999 against Palmeiras it was a one off. That's why I want to pick the right time for the first match because we very much want to play in the final. We played the Urawa Reds twice in friendlies and we found them difficult because they were very energetic and technically sound. Clubs in Japan have made tremendous improvements in technical and organization ability. And their stadia are fantastic thanks to the World Cup. It's a young country in terms of football, but it's an up-and-coming country. They have made terrific improvements. I expect a very tough game on Thursday and it will hopefully be one we can navigate properly. Q: What is your assessment of semifinal opponent and Asian champions Gamba, and what is the status of your squad at present? A: I watched a video this morning of their game against Adelaide and we have a good idea of their game. It's always better to watch a competitive match like that rather than something with nothing on the line. (Goalkeeper) Ben Foster broke his finger on Thursday in training. But I brought a full squad of 23 and that's why we watch our opponents so closely--so we pick the right team. I can always pick the wrong team, but I hope not to. Q: There are many in the media who claim this tournament is a hindrance at this time of year. Your comments please. A: I think the media don't take it as seriously as we do. I think we first took part in the intercontinental competition in 1968 when it was a one-off game, and up until four years ago that was the format. But world football has grown and countries like Japan, Korea and China have developed. And a world championship tournament requires more teams. It's an extra game for us but the prestige attached to it now is far greater than in the past. Japan is a fantastic country, with fantastic facilities, a very comfortable hotel … everything is comfortable. Yes it's a 12-hour flight, but even that's comfortable. In twenty years’ time for us to look back and see that Manchester United were world champions is fantastic and that's why we've come here to win it. Q: Which Gamba players do you consider to be the biggest threat? A: (Midfielder Yasuhito) Endo is their star player. He scored their goal (in the 1-0 win over Adelaide United in the quarterfinals). And they changed his position from behind the striker to the left side but he was still influential. Also the Brazilian Lucas. He is tall and quick with his feet, which is unlike most Brazilian players. He's very effective. Two of their midfielders (Hayato Sasaki and Takahiro Futagawa) are also very good, but they will be missing due to injury and that will be tough on them. Q: What is your secret to managing such a talented and diverse group of players? The best way to judge it is that I have been at the club for 22 years and the experience is there. And once you handle one personality it prepares you for the next one that comes along. After a while it becomes quite easy. But the most important thing is that the manager's personality must be as strong as all the players. Q: How have your preparations been, and how do you deal with jetlag with a Premier League showdown with Stoke City scheduled for Boxing Day? A: Changing the body clock in such a short period of time is the most difficult thing. We had the players up at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning and made sure they didn't sleep until the plane ride here. We'll change back on Thursday to British time again. The medical side is taken care of the medical staff and I am confident we are doing all that we can. Q: So does the opportunity to play other clubs with other styles really outweigh the inconvenience of flying out here at such as busy time in the Premier League schedule? A: Playing different opposition doesn't do us any harm, but the main point is that this is a chance to win a world title. We can become world champions in December but we can't win the Premier League title in December. It is a little bit of a handicap but that's what happens when you are successful. We're here because we won the European Championship and we hope to be in Abu Dhabi (site of the 2009 Club World Cup) next year. The incentives outweigh anything happening in the Premier League. Q: If you had to play a 39th game in the EPL, which Asian city would you prefer to play it in? A: I don't think there will be a 39th game, sorry. I'm not in favor of it. If you look at our domestic program, with all those cup competitions, I think it’s impossible. If you ask me to pick a city I won't, because there are so many good ones in Asia and I don't want to offend anyone. But I don't think there will ever be a 39th game and I don't think there should be. Copyright © C.G. 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Josip Kuze became the second manager in the J.League first division to be sacked in the 2008 season, following Holger Osieck's marching orders from the Urawa Reds after just two matches. JEF United Chiba announced on their website that they had terminated the 55-year-old Croatian's contract on Wednesday without providing further details. It is not immediately known who will replace Kuze. JEF are winless in 11 matches and are in last place with two points from two draws. We caught up with Kuze following United's 3-0 loss to the Urawa Reds at Saitama Stadium on Tuesday, less than 24 hours before his firing. Did you think you could have gotten something out of today's match with the score locked at 0-0 at halftime? "I'm disappointed, of course. We lost. They scored three goals. We have the right organization but we made mistakes and gave the opponent the advantage." And now you're 10 points out of 16th place (just above the drop zone). "It's a difficult situation and the other clubs have big advantages. We have only two points, we are analyzing everything, we need new players." The Japanese papers cited sources within JEF who said you were planning to step down if you didn't win today. So these rumors were obviously not true? "Newspapers always speculate. I was talking with the club and we are talking about all the possibilities. They say no way, I will stay. I want to stay and they want me to stay. We are thinking positively. Of course we have to analyze things and first of all we want to get more players. That's all I know." So the team told you they were happy with your perform ance? "I didn't say that, I am just trying to be objective. In my opinion we are working hard. As a coach I try all day to analyze things. The players are happy, the coach is happy, everything is OK. But I wasn't prepared to come here and find that we lost four or five players in the midfield before our preseason even started. But even that is not the problem. In my opinion it's because we had many injured players and many players are slowly coming back into the team. For example (Ryota) Aoki, he started playing only three weeks ago. (Seiichiro) Maki has a problem. (Shohei) Ikeda started two weeks ago. Reinaldo played only one game. (Takuya) Kokeguchi also, and (Yuta) Baba. All those players, one by one they have been coming to the team and that's a problem." So in your opinion the mood at the club is good? "It's not a bad atmosphere. We have a good working atmosphere. We are trying to make a more enthusiastic mood and to make a competitive and winning spirit. But everything is OK--in the dressing room and in the training. The only bad thing is that we cannot win." What needs to be done to stop the rot? "In my opinion it is time to analyze everything after the game against Oita (on May 10). Because after that we have a break. It's time to sit down and figure out what's the best thing for JEF. Anyway, I have a lot of experience. I want to stay. I think I can turn things around. But I have demands. To make a good team, we need to change some positions on the team and bring in some strong figures." Do you have any players in mind? "Yes, of course, but it is a difficult time for foreigners right now because we can't do anything until the first of June. And for Japanese players also we are talking to some clubs but they also want to finish that first stage and then they can say for certain who they can or can't trade away." What's JEF's biggest problem right now? "Our problem is our defense. In my opinion we have no intelligence in defense, soccer intelligence. Without intelligence you can't make a compact defense. Individually they have power, they can cover and everything, but thinking and reading the game is a problem. Correcting things during the game is a problem. And we need one leader in defense with intelligence." Your team put up quite a fight today for the first hour. They seem more motivated than in previous games. "This bad situation is motivation for our players. And they know that now each game is so important and so I think our attitude is OK, and our organization is good, but individual mistakes put us in a difficult situation. And that's difficult to learn. That's a problem. Can they learn it or can they not learn it? And how long will it take for them to learn it? We have no time to wait." Copyright: C.G. Williams & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

New Urawa Reds manager Gert Engels guided the Asian champions to their first win of the season on Sunday, snapping a four-game drought that included two losses in the J.League and a loss and a draw in the league Nabisco Cup. The Reds defeated Albirex Niigata 3-0 on goals from Takahito Soma, Marcus Tulio Tanaka and Yuichiro Nagai on a rainy afternoon at Saitama Stadium. Afterwards we caught up with Engels, the former assistant manager who was promoted after the firing of fellow German Holger Osieck two games into the 2008 season. Engels said the win meant a significant weight had been lifted from his and his team’s shoulders and added that he hoped the victory would lead to greater things to come this year as the Reds look to regain the league and Emperor’s Cup titles they lost to the Kashima Antlers last year. Q: You must be relieved to have won today … A: Yes that’s the right word, relief. It was very important for us to win here and to win with such a goal difference is even better. 3-0 sounds good, even though it could have ended 3-1 or even 5-2. But I think we got the crowd to support because we tried to play aggressive and go forward and it’s important we do that here at home. Q: It looked like the players were keen to run up the score. A: In the second half we pushed a little too hard. We have to remember that we have a game on Wednesday. There were some situations where we shouldn’t have looked for the fastest way to the goal, we should have kept the ball a little more. There were a few scenes where (Hajime) Hosogai played the ball to Umesaki when he was under pressure. He should have stopped and passed back or tried the other side of the pitch. But I’m happy my players did this, they are young and can recover in the next two days. It’s better than playing too slowly. It was important for our fans that we pushed till the end. Q: You used Tulio as a (defensive) midfielder for the first time. It looked like a stroke of genius in retrospect. A: I think it worked. But everyone knows he’s not the big mover. And we have three games in a row now. We will see. The defense line worked well and Hosogai played 90 minutes with the Olympic team so I really though Tulio could influence the game more from the center of the pitch than from the back. I know he’s a player who likes to push forward and I thought (as a defender) there would be situations where he pushed forward too much and left us with only two defenders. As a midfielder he was in a situation where he could push. If he pushed too much, Keita (Suzuki) was there, Hosogai was there and even (captain Nobuhisa) Yamada, who was told to cover in the middle a little bit. I thought Tulio’s movement was good, and he scored a beautiful goal, which was a very good combination from everybody up front. Q: Keita Suzuki went off injured today and hasn’t looked at all sharp this season. Do you think he’s overworked? A: As you see, not only in our team but the national team they are not in good shape. And there are a few injuries in the national team, including now our Keita and (Naohiro) Takahara and even from other teams. It’s a big problem. I’m going to try to give the players more rest. If we play in the Nabisco Cup, these players play national team. It’s difficult to get them rest. We can try to rest them in training. If they have a lot of games we need to take care and maybe we can give them special training. It could be a problem with the Olympic squad, with Hosogai and (Tsukasa) Umesaki. We had a tough and long season last year and our players started up again in the middle of January. Q: This is your first win as Reds manager. Was it a special victory for you? A: I’ll remember this game, definitely. Whatever happens from now you never know. But I think the first win at home as a manager of a team like the Reds, I will remember it, definitely. A: You left defender Keisuke Tsuboi on the bench today in favor of rookie Shunsuke Tsutsumi. Can we have a few comments on that? A: We need to do this. If you are not really satisfied and you feel a player doesn’t have the confidence he usually has … We have a good squad and we can change players from game to game. And if they are used to this tension you can rest them and make them fresh again if you find the right way to do it. I think it’s very important for our team. Last year of course the pressure from the Champions League was immense, that’s why we couldn’t change players so much, we didn’t want to, and it didn’t pay off in the final weeks. I hope I can change players with the same quality more often to give them more rest and to push them. I spoke to Tsuboi and I think he himself was not very comfortable. He resigned from the national team and I thought that this would be a step forward to concentrate on his game and on his play. It showed that he was a little unsure. I said to him that if everything goes normal you will be a vital player for our team. But at the moment you don’t have the self confidence to do this. And he did very well in training the two days after. I think it was a relief for him, to be honest. But I’m sure we will need him. We will be playing offensively and we will need him to defend against counterattacking teams and I am sure we will need him. He’s a very important player for our team. Q: Osieck was canned two games into the season. What do you feel you need to do to ensure you’re still around at this time next year? A: It’s very easy: I need to win as much as possible. If we play good soccer like we did today, if we play Reds soccer, the people will forgive us if we don’t win all four titles. But my objective is of course to win titles with the Reds and to keep the team moving. And maybe also to bring young players in. Q: On injured striker Takahara: A: Takahara himself feels good with his injury. He moved well yesterday but the doctor sees an injury on the X-ray so we have to be careful. I hope for him and for us he can play against Jubilo (April 5). But the medical staff says he’s got a better chance of being ready for the game here against Kashima (April 13). It’s a risk in a young season to bring him in. We’ve got Edmilson up front, Nagai and surely we will need Takahara, but now it’s a risk. Q: On striker Nagai: A: I’m happy with what he’s been doing the last couple of games. He works very hard and he’s in good shape. He is of the age now where he also has to take responsibility. I think he suffered in the past because he never really had the stability of playing regularly in a season. But he’s become a little bit stronger mentally which is very important for him. Q: On striker Edmilson’s tantrum at being substituted late in the match against his former team: A: We need to talk about that, definitely. That’s what we don’t need now, situations like this. It was 3-0, the game was shut out and I thought we should rest him a little bit. Of course he thinks about Niigata, his former teammates, which I understand 100 percent. But I am not in the position to think about Niigata, or how he wants to score against his old club. The game was won, he’s not yet in his best physical condition and we need him on Wednesday so that’s why I made the decision to take him out. We need to talk about this and then it’s finished. There will be no problem from my side. Copyright: C.G. Williams and Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

Disappointed Japanese national team players were trying to stay positive Wednesday night in light of their surprising 1-0 loss to Bahrain in World Cup qualifying in Manama. It was the first loss in seven matches for the Asian giants under new manager Takeshi Okada, but it left the team three points adrift of Bahrain in Asian Group B of qualifying for South Africa 2010. Japan conceded in the 77th minute to an Ala’a Hubail header after goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi made a mess of an attempted punch of an Ismail Abdullatif cross. The ball fell kindly to Hubail, who nodded it over Kawaguchi as defender Yuji Nakazawa vainly attempted to prevent the shot from crossing the line. “In the dressing room after the game the talk was all about what we need to do in our next games. We have to stay positive,” said Nagoya Grampus striker Keiji Tamada. “Of course, we can’t dismiss what happened today. We have to learn our lessons and correct them.” Japan struggled to find any kind of rhythm and looked confused and apprehensive going forward in a new-look 3-5-2 formation. The players admitted the 33 degree heat and state of the pitch worked against them but were also quick to accept the blame for playing far below expectations. Midfielder Yasuhito Endo pointed to Japan’s failure to dictate play, particularly up front. “We didn’t create a lot of chances today, especially in the first half. We need to get our act together better in front of goal and vary the tempo of our attack more,” Endo said. Japan played without injured striker Naohiro Takahara of the Urawa Reds and Europe-based stars Shunsuke Nakamura of Celtic and Junichi Inamoto of Eintracht Frankfurt, fielding an all-J.League lineup that featured JEF United Chiba striker Seiichiro Maki and Yoshito Okubo of Vissel Kobe up front. Bahrain lead the group with six points after a 1-0 win over Oman in the first round. Oman, who beat Thailand 1-0 on Wednesday, sit behind Japan on goal difference in third. Winless Thailand pull up the rear. “Fortunately we still have some time,” said Maki. “We’ve got to regroup, think about how we want to play and execute it in our next games. Whatever we do we need to stay positive.” The next round of matches is scheduled for June 2. Bahrain travel to Thailand while Japan host Oman. Copyright: C.G. Williams & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

The Urawa Reds became the first Japanese team since Shimizu S-Pulse in 2000 to win a continental championship when they defeated Sepahan of Iran 2-0 in the final of the Asian Champions League on Wednesday at Saitama Stadium.