'This is football at a different level' - Tribulietx

Words: ACFC Media

Tuesday 5 February 2019

Picture: Phototek

HONG KONG, China - Auckland City FC are used to the role of underdogs on the international stage but their clash with Shandong Luneng Taishan FC takes that moniker to whole new level tomorrow night.

The Chinese Super League giants boast a squad of top quality talent led by 1.94m former Italy striker Grazione Pelle and recent acquisition Marouane Fellaini, picked up in the January transfer window from Manchester United.

Rumoured to be on $665,000.00 USD per week, Fellaini is said to be doubtful to start the match with Auckland City FC due to a calf strain but whether he does or not, Shandong Luneng look a formidable opponent.

Former Brazil international defender Gil completes a trio of players with world class pedigree and like his team-mates, he's a giant standing at 1.93m.

Gil picked up 11 caps for Brazil and played in Ligue 1 with Valenciennes while fellow compatriot Roger Guedes, a 22-year-old striker formerly with Palmeiras, is a relative midget at a modest 1.82m.

With such tall, muscular and talented opponents, Auckland City FC coach Ramon Tribulietx says there is no surprise in the way Shandong Luneng Taishan FC use their talent.

"They are a very direct team and try to play the ball forward into their front four very quickly or they go straight to Grazione Pelle.

"From that situation they create a lot of attacking options which is what we have to understand.

"We'll look at the tactical side of things and readjust two or three elements of what we do in and out of possession to try and hurt Shandong Luneng and put things in place to manage what they bring to the game," he told www.aucklandcityfc.com.

Auckland City FC's record against professional sides is more than respectable with FIFA Club World Cup wins notched in 2009 and the highwater mark of 2014 already well documented but despite that there is no getting away from the financial gap at play - it is astronomical.

The transfer fees alone from the top ten signings in Chinese Super League history amount to an eyewatering $646,444,115.00 NZD.

That is enough money to run the ISPS Handa Premiership and OFC Champions League at just over their present capacities for 129 years. 

Fellaini, whose deal to join Shandong Luneng Taishan FC will earn him around $20m NZD per season, was only a drop in the bucket in terms of transfer fee with Manchester United picking up around $18 million NZD.

By contrast, Auckland City FC's squad is made up from the usual collection of part-timers, players who either work fulltime and commit to an as-close-to-fulltime-football-career-as-you-can-get training regime or combine training with work as a community coach.

Beyond that, the only Auckland City FC player to have rubbed shoulders with players of this calibre on a regular basis as either an opponent or team-mate is goalkeeper Enaut Zubikarai during his time with Real Sociedad.

Zubikarai remains the only National League goalkeeper in New Zealand football history to have wins over Real Madrid and Barcelona on his CV and will therefore be important when kick-off arrives at 9pm NZST tomorrow.

How Tribulietx shuffles his pack will be critical as he manages a fixture logjam that features ten games in three competitions over the course of 30 days but with scarcely the same resources or cash reserves at his disposal as opposite number, Shandong Luneng Taishan FC coach, Li Xiaopeng. 

That is a familiar position for Tribulietx to be in and he answers the quandary in his usual pragmatic way. 

"We'll look at make changes at the break and in the second half and try to avoid overusing players who played Canterbury because we have to play again two days later.

"Matches at this level are always of a different type of intensity and we don't want to burn anyone out but at the same time we want to remain competitive.

"We've got good depth in our squad and I have a lot of confidence when we make changes that the quality of our side stays strong," he said.

Auckland City FC play four games in just eight days, including Wellington Phoenix reserves on Sunday then an away game at Southern United in Dunedin on Wednesday week.

Tribulietx keeps an eye on energy levels but says his players look ready to go.

"It was a long flight but the players have recovered well. There's only five hours difference between here and New Zealand so it's not a big issue for us and everyone seems good.

"The pre-match training session will give us a better idea of where we are at. We're checking in with players who played against Canterbury United on Saturday.

"I spoke with Takuya Iwata and he's had a rest and feels much better but we'll see how we go at our training session.

"We'll have a light session tomorrow morning before the game and probably focus on some functional elements," he said.

With an element of the surreal combining with the superstardom of their opponents, Tribulietx was philosophical but focused.

"The welcome dinner was great, experiencing a different culture was good for our players and it was good to see Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi alongside Fernando Torres, Grazione Pelle and Marouane Fellaini.

"It's normal for players on the first day to enjoy these moments but once we hit the training ground everyone switched on and we'll make sure we are ready for a match that will be played at a very different level than we are used to."

The other match pits the Hong Kong XI against Fernando Torres' Sagan Tosu at 11.15pm NZST. 

The winner of each match advance to the final on Thursday with kick off at the same time.

Ends

Top 10 Chinese Super League Transfers (all prices in British pounds) 

1. Oscar (Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG) £54m
2. Hulk (Zenit Saint Petersburg to Shanghai SIPG) £50.22m
3. Alex TEIZEIRA (Shaktar Donetsk to Jiangsu Suning) £45m
4. Jackson MARTINEZ (Atletico Madrid to Guangzhou Evergrande) £37.80
5. Cedric BAKAMBU (Villareal to Beijing Sinobo Guoan) £36m
6. Yannick CARRASCO (Atletico Madrid to Dalian Yifang) £27m
7. Anthony MODESTE (FC Koln to Tianjin Quanjian) £26.10m
8. Ramires (Chelsea to Jiangsu Suning) £25.20m
9. Odion IGHALO (Watford to Changchun) £20.97m
10. Chendong ZHANG (Beijing Sinobo Guoan to Hebei China Fortune) £18.39m

Match Details
Tonghai Financial Chinese New Year Cup
Tuesday 5 February 2019
Auckland City FC v Shandong Luneng Taishan FC
Hong Kong International Stadium
Kick-off: 9pm NZST
#ACvSL

AC (squad): 1. Enaut ZUBIKARAI (GK), 3. Takuya IWATA, 4. Mario BILEN, 5. Angel BERLANGA (c), 6. Brian KALTACK, 7. Cam HOWIESON, 8. Albert RIERA, 9. Javier LOPEZ, 10. Micah LEA'ALAFA, 11. Fabrizio TAVANO, 12. Dylan MANICKUM, 13. Patrick LUNDEMO, 14. Jordan VALE, 15. Dan MORGAN, 16. Yousif ALI, 17. Jackson WOOD, 18. Ruben PARKER (GK), 19. David BROWNE, 20. Te Atawhai HUDSON-WIHONGI, 21. Maro BONSU-MARO, 22. Omar GUARDIOLA, 23. Alfie ROGERS, 24. Cameron BROWN (GK), 25. Joshua JONES.

COACH: Ramon TRIBULIETX.

Tonghai Finance Chinese New Year Cup 2019
Tuesday 5 February , 2019
Hong Kong League XI v Sagan Tosu
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong
Kick-off: 11.15pm NZST

Tonghai Finance Chinese New Year Cup 2019
Third Place match
Thursday 7 February, 2019
Loser of A v Loser of B
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong
Kick-off: 9pm NZST

Tonghai Finance Chinese New Year Cup 2019
Final
Thursday 7 February, 2019
Winner of A v Winner of B
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong
Kick-off: 11.15pm NZST

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