Match Details:
Melbourne Victory FC vs Muangthong United FC
7:45pm, Saturday 15 February,
Kardinia Park, Geelong
The Big Picture
The two sides will battle it out for a place in Group G of the 2014 AFC Champions League, and there has been plenty of fire in the build up to the contest. Muangthong United were runners-up in the 2013 Thai Premier League and come with plenty of hope and belief that they can upset the hosts. They have beaten Hà Nội T&T to get this far and harbour ambitions to qualify for the group stage.
Melbourne Victory haven’t been in hot form since the turn of the year, but did stem the bad run of form that saw them lose back to back games 5-0 initially with a draw against Perth, and then an away win in Gosford last weekend. The club haven’t had much success to talk about in this competition, having failed to get out of the group on every occasion. Their only experience against Thai opposition was against Chonburi FC in their first foray into the Champions League, winning 3-1 at home while losing 3-1 away.
Melbourne Victory
All the talk from the club has been positive so far, with a clear shift in mentality towards the competition. All indications are that qualifying for the AFC Champions League is regarded as a very high priority by the club, and making the group stages will be essential for the likes of Tom Rogic, Mark Milligan and even Archie Thompson as they look to put their names on the squad going to the World Cup.
The win in Gosford last weekend will serve them well, giving them the belief that they can indeed win again after it all looked to be going pear shaped. Mark Milligan got some much needed game time as he makes his way back from minor knee surgery and should figure prominently in this clash. His presence will take on extra significance with Adrian Leijer sidelined for multiple fractures to his face, after a kick from Matt Simon in the dying stages of the match.
Brazilian maestro Gui Finkler misses out altogether, with Kevin Muscat believing his side have less depth in other areas on the park. That necessitated the selections of Adama Traore, Pablo Contreras and Kosta Barbarouses as the three international players. Barbarouses will return from injury this week, and is expected to feature at some point in the match.
Muangthong United
The Thai boys have arrived in Australia in far from ideal circumstances, with the uncertainty surrounding the future of head coach Scott Cooper quickly becoming a bit of a joke. His assistant coach Pon Chamchuen will be the official head coach for the AFC Champions League, as Cooper actually does not hold the necessary coaching badges. To make matters worse, their North Korean defender Ri Kwang-Chon has been left behind in Thailand after the Australian Government rejected his visa application.
Apart from all the off field dramas, the Muangthong squad possesses some real quality in the likes of Jay Bothroyd, Teerasil Dangda, Mario Gjurovski, and even captain Datsakorn Thonglao. Chamchuen revealed in the press conference that star striker Bothroyd has actually been suffering from a cold, but he is expected to be fit. Dangda recently secured a dream move to La Liga outfit Almeria, and has an impeccable goalscoring rate at international level. Gjurovski and Thonglao will provide all the midfield creativity, and Muangthong will not be holding back from attacking the home side.
Dirty tactics?
In a video posted by Muangthong United, Cooper accused the Victory of using “dirty tricks” by helping leak the report where he supposedly handed in his resignation to the board. Cooper went on to say that the hosts were scared of his team and that it only served to further motivate his side to win.
Muscat refuted the claims, saying it was “insulting” that the accusation even came about.
“If there wasn’t this turbulence, would they try a little bit less? I don’t really understand it to be honest.” Muscat said.
“We look into this motivation and all that sort of stuff [but] the reality is both teams tomorrow night will be – regardless of everything that’s happened in the last 24 hour – trying their utmost to get a result.”
When questioned about the situation, Chamchuen brushed it aside.
“Maybe the information before the game have a problem with, maybe we misunderstand each other, so don’t worry about that,” Chamchuen said.
“We just come to focus with the team. That other factor is not important for the team, so we come to play the game.”
The situation has no doubt added some spice to the contest despite both sides trying to play it down, though it should ensure an exciting opening to the clash.
Kevin Muscat Quotes
How he feels about playing at Kardinia Park:
“I’m actually happy that we’re in Geelong. We’ve played a game here previously and we’ve got thousands of fans that travel down from Geelong to watch us play in Melbourne whenever we’re at home. So from our perspective we’ll return the favour and perform up here in Geelong.”
What the club know about Muangthong United:
“We’ve done enough research on them in their last couple of games and they’re a good team. It’s going to be a test for us tomorrow night – they have some good individuals but collectively they’re going to challenge us tomorrow night so we’re going to have to be at our best.”
On the pressure of getting through the play-off clash:
“Any game you represent Melbourne Victory you’re under pressure. The greatest pressure from our perspective is one from within. We put ourselves under a certain amount of pressure to perform. Without a doubt we want to qualify for this competition so there’s two teams in a cut-throat tie that are going to be under that same pressure, and I daresay we’ve prepared well to handle that tomorrow night.”
Pon Chamchuen Quotes
What he knows about his opponents:
“We studied about the team of Melbourne, they are strong but we have a good tactic to play against them so I think that we work hard, to come to play – I think that we can bring [a victory] back to Thailand.”
How his side will approach the game:
“We [are playing] away, so we know how to play with the compact defence and then if we can possession and have a good attack. So we have good possessions, we have a chance to score, we try.”
“We worked hard on how to play in each situation of the game, if we can follow the plan, [we can] put all the pressure back on Melbourne Victory.”
Who he feels are the favourites for the match:
“I think 100% for Muangthong United.
“All the fans expect that we come here to win.”