But the Spaniard maintains that, in order to do so, Auckland will need to hit top form.
“There is belief that we can actually win the game,” Tribulietx says. “We were impressed after watching Kashiwa win the title and they are a very good team. We know that, they are the J.League winners for a reason and this is the FIFA Club World Cup.”
Auckland City’s task may have become even harder with Tribulietx’s opposite number, Nelsinho Baptista, named J.League coach of the year last night, a title won in the past by names like Arsene Wenger, Ossie Ardiles and Dragan Stojkovic.
Kashiwa’s attacking midfielder Leandro Domingues also nabbed the league’s player of the year award after scoring 15 goals in 30 league appearances.
And any thoughts Auckland may face a complacent opponent have been dispelled by coach Nelsinho.
He says going into the clash with Auckland as champions has given Kashiwa a big psychological lift.
“Winning the Japanese title gives us added motivation,” Nelsinho says. “We’ve already achieved one of our targets with that success and now we want to win our upcoming matches. We’ve been very focused in our preparations for the game against Auckland.”
Tribulietx and City skipper Ivan Vicelich are both more than aware of the difference in levels between the two teams, despite their meticulous planning.
“We’ve shown the players some videos of Kashiwa and talked about a few things we can do to hurt them. We’ve also pointed out a few things to the players where Kashiwa can hurt us. But the belief is growing that we can compete in this game,” Tribulietx says.
Vicelich says the job ahead requires a special performance from Auckland if they hope to advance.
“It’s going to be a tough task against the Japanese champions. We’re a small amateur club and we’re going to have to put in a big performance to get a result. We’re facing a huge challenge,” the veteran All Whites defender admits.
One area likely to offer Auckland City a goal-scoring threat is set pieces, with Vicelich and defensive partner Angel Berlanga both dangerous in the air.
Tribulietx has been handed a selection boost with Chad Coombes participating in a full training session last night for the first time since arriving in Japan.
“Apart from a couple of niggles everyone is 100 per cent. It’s hard for us to pick the team. We’ve been working towards this for the past three months. We’ll make the team selection when the time comes,” Tribulietx says.
“We’ll name the starting line-up just before the match as we do in all the competitions we play in. We’ll leave that until the last moment,” he says.
The team has two scheduled training sessions left before facing Kashiwa, including today’s official training session on the Toyota City Stadium pitch, home of Nagoya Grampus Eight.
The stadium holds 45,000 fans and has a retractable roof that will be closed on the day of the match.
Ticket sales have been slower than expected with Kashiwa edging Nagoya out of the J.League title race on the weekend.
FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2011
Kashiwa Reysol [JPN] v Auckland City [NZL]
Thursday 8 December
Toyota City, Japan
Kick-off: 11.45pm (NZT)
Live on Sky Sport 1
Auckland City (from): 1. Jacob SPOONLEY (GK), 3. Ian HOGG, 4. Sam CAMPBELL, 5. Angel BERLANGA, 6. Chad COOMBES, 7. James PRITCHETT, 8. David MULLIGAN, 9. Manel EXPOSITO, 10. Luis CORRALES, 11. Daniel KOPRIVCIC, 12. Liam LITTLE (GK), 13. Alex FENERIDIS, 14. Adam DICKINSON, 15. Ivan VICELICH (c), 16. Albert RIERA, 17. Adam McGEORGE, 18. Paul GOTHARD (GK), 20. Emiliano TADE, 21. Andreu GUERAO, 22. Andrew MILNE, 23. Simon ARMS, 27. Thomas DOYLE
Coach: Ramon TRIBULIETX