Brisbane Roar have drawn some of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League’s biggest and best and coach Ange Postecoglou says he wouldn’t want it any other way.
The Brisbane Roar have drawn some of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League’s biggest and best and coach Ange Postecoglou says he wouldn’t want it any other way.
On Tuesday, Brisbane were drawn in Group F alongside K-League (South Korea) runners-up Ulsan Hyundai Horang-I, super-rich Chinese outfit Beijing Guoan and the Japanese side that wins the final of the Emperor’s Cup on New Year’s Day.
There are high hopes that the Roar, who now hold the Australian record across all codes for undefeated games with their 36-match streak, will be the first Hyundai A-League side to make a significant impact in the tournament since Adelaide United finished runner-up in 2008.
Postecoglou said his club would plunge into the competition fearlessly, assuming the same aggressive attitude and approach that netted them the premiership-championship double in 2010-11.
“(The draw) is exactly what we wanted and we want to do well in it, it’s not just a matter of taking part. And if you do want to do well in it, you want to meet the bigger clubs in the bigger nations,” said Postecoglou.
“You don’t want an easy draw. Some people hope for a soft opening, but from our point of view it’s exactly what we wanted.”
“We’re not putting any limits on anything. It’s the same as the A-League. The key thing for us is if we can play our style of football against the best teams in Asia.”
“We’re not going to take a negative mindset or go out there and play for results. We play a certain way and we want to see if we can do that against better quality opposition.”
One of the greatest challenges standing in the way of the Australian clubs has been the unmatchable buying power of their Asian rivals, who can shop big to compile high-powered international rosters.
Postecoglou said that Brisbane would look at their options closer to their March opener against the Japanese side at Suncorp Stadium, but at this point were willing to back the lower-profile talent already percolating in the Hyundai A-League.
“The opportunity (to recruit) is there, and (it’ll depend on) how we get through January, because obviously the January (trade) market opens and we might lose a couple of players. But at this point in time I’m really happy with the squad and the way it’s developing,” said Postecoglou.
“The reality of it is we can’t match the funds of these overseas clubs, particularly the three countries that we’re facing. With the salary cap issues that we’ve got in the local competition, it just isn’t feasible.”
“But that doesn’t matter we can be competitive and can do what we want to do, so our objectives remain the same.”
