“We have done our job in the background and have been watching Hiroshima for a long time,” he says.
“I expected them to win the league because they have been the best team. They are a very technical side and very good in possession.
“They have got very good players – Hisato, the top goal scorer in the league, and Mikic are both very important for them. Morisaki the playmaker is also very good.”
The match – which acts as a play-off for the quarter-finals – is another first for Auckland City as new goal line technology gets its first official hit out in a FIFA tournament.
Auckland City was also the first team in the world to kick a Jubulani ball when they faced Al-Ahli at the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi three years ago.
Captain Ivan Vicelich believes goal line technology is a must-have.
“It’s a good feature to have – we sometimes see goals missed at major tournaments. Any help match officials can get is better for the result in the end,” he says.
“It’s technology a lot of sports have brought in and I think football can adjust to that as well.”
Hiroshima captured their first league championship with a total of 64 points, ahead of Sendai on 57, although Hiroshima did lose eight games en route to their maiden title.
The champions won their last game of the J.League season with a 1-0 triumph over Vissel Kobe, a result that relegated their opponents on the final day.
Croatian midfielder Mihael Mikic and striker Hisato Sato are the dangermen for the home side, with Sato named the J.League’s MVP for 2012 earlier this week.
Last year Auckland City lost 2-0 to Kashiwa Reysol at the same stage of the FIFA Club World Cup but victory this time would set up a quarter-final repeat of their 2006 clash with Egypt’s Al-Ahly.
The Hiroshima match kicks off at 7.45pm local time (11.45pm NZ time) and will be screened live in New Zealand on SKY Sport 3.

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