Foxtel A-League All Stars coach Josep Gombau is confident his side will be ready for the might of Juventus despite being held to a 0-0 draw with the Young Socceroos on Tuesday night at WIN Stadium.
In the side’s only hit-out before Sunday’s massive clash with the Bianconeri at ANZ Stadium, they produced some moments of magic but were unable to break down Paul Okon’s well organised youngsters.
Gombau said he was satisfied with what he saw from the 90-minutes in front of a superb crowd of almost 7000 fans in Wollongong.
Every player in the 20-man squad saw some game time, with the All Stars boss now to decide just who will make the starting XI to face the Italian champions.
While he admits there are areas they need to work on before Sunday, Gombau was pleased with what he got out of the match.
“For us it was an important game because we need to mix the team…we are not a team,” Gombau told reporters.
“There’s one (player) from here, one from there and it’s difficult. They’re good players but they’ve never played together.
“For us (the game was) like training, we did a few wrong things but if we correct, we won’t do on Sunday. For us it was important to play a game before Sunday.
“They (Juventus) are very good. The type of team if you make a mistake they punish you. We will see what will happen.”
Gombau concedes it’s very difficult to try and implement his style on the side in just a week’s preparations.
But he will instruct them to go out and soak up the atmosphere in the stadium and believes the quality in the All Stars side can cover for their lack of matches together.
“In a (one-off) game anything can happen. We could have a good start, we score, and in this environment it can give you a lot of things.
“The difference, Juventus is one of the best teams in Europe. They need to enjoy it, everybody needs to enjoy it…it will be a good game.”
While skipper Alessandro Del Piero is a certain starter against his former club, Gombau says he hasn’t decided just where he will fit into his 4-3-3 formation.
The Italian legend played the last 24 minutes against the Young Socceroos and almost stole a victory with a thunderous strike late on which whistled past the post.
Brisbane Roar championship-winning quartet Matt Smith, Thomas Broich, Jade North and Besart Berisha all started and played big minutes for the All Stars.
“They know each other so they can connect better and faster,” Gombau said.
“We have just 10 days to prepare for the game, so this (combination) will help. I don’t know if all four will (start on Sunday) but they are doing well and did a good job.”
The FOXTEL A-League All Stars will meet Juventus at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on 10 August with the match to be broadcast live and exclusive on the Seven Network nationally.
