Adelaide United boss Aurelio Vidmar is looking to recharge his squad’s batteries as he contemplates changing the line up ahead of the return fixture in Japan against Sanfrecce Hiroshima on match day four of the AFC Champions League.
“Yeah possibly, I already started thinking about that last night,” he said.
“So we’ll get through today, get on the flight tomorrow (Friday) and once we get there and we’ll see how everyone has pulled up.”
“Most of them are (sore). It’s been a tough season so we still need to hang in tough for another six or so weeks. But generally after a game everyone is going to feel stiff and sore.”
The Reds boss believes there’s still plenty of time for the squad to freshen up before the reverse fixture in Japan on Tuesday. United depart Adelaide Friday morning before touching down in the land of the rising sun on Saturday morning after a 24 hour trip.
“We’ve got time. We still have enough time getting there Saturday morning, early,” he said.
“We’ll have a nice little rest then we’ll go into a training session Saturday afternoon and we’ve got Sunday and Monday. So that’s plenty of time to freshen them up. “
“Maybe some new faces in the team also might help freshen it up. I think we’ve got a fantastic squad and the boys who haven’t had much game time have really been itching to get out there.”
United escaped with a 3-2 win after the visitors took an unlikely 2-1 lead in the second half, despite being a man down.
Ilian Stuyanov was sent off on the half hour for a professional foul with Sanfrecce already a goal down courtesy of a Travis Dodd head.
The Red’s midfield appeared to tire in the second half as the 10 men of Sanfrecce turned the game on its head after scoring twice.
“I thought we slowed down a bit in the second half and allowed them to get into the game,” he said.
“But in saying that I thought we showed a tremendous amount of character and will and fight to get back into a winning position.”
Vidmar was also full of praise for the visitors and denied complacency was the reason United fell behind.
“No, I don-t think so. We played against Sydney with 10 men this year and won the game,” he said.
“Look, I have to give a lot of credit to Hiroshima, a lot of credit. What they did for 60 minutes to play with ten men, they had the lion’s share of possession as well. To get themselves into a winning position, that’s a sign of a great team. So full credit to Hiroshima. “
Vidmar also admitted to feeling some nostalgia upon returning to the Big Arch stadium in Hiroshima after spending a season with Sanfrecce, scoring six goals in 24 appearances.
“Yeah it will be nice, it’s been a long time,” he said.
“There’s not too much sentiment when you get close to the pitch and again for us our focus will be trying to win the game.”
“I haven’t been back in 11 years so it will be nice to see how the city has changed. Apparently there’s a new motorway from the city to the Big Arch, which is good because it used to take 45 minutes.”
