Adelaide United boss Aurelio Vidmar believes he’s the man to lead the Reds to Asian Champions League glory and it’s hard to argue with him after he led the side to two very impressive victories to top Group H.
The Reds opened their campaign with a 1-0 win at home over defending champions Pohang and backed that up with a 2-0 win in China against Shandong to be in poll position to progress to the next round.
“I always thought I was the right person for the job, but sometimes you get into a situation where it’s pretty much of a fine line and that’s with all coaches I suppose,” he said.
While delighted with United’s current standing and position in the ACL, Vidmar was reluctant to look too far ahead, reissuing the challenge to his troops to remain focussed and not become nonchalant.
“It’s great that we’ve managed to back up our win against Pohang and get the second win, that was really important, especially away from home,” he said.
“But, there’s still a long way to go and you can’t get carried away. We’ll enjoy it while we can, the next couple of days, then we have to get back on the track.”
Vidmar hailed the Reds’ past two wins as two of the club’s greatest wins in their short ACL history, which says a lot considering United’s 2008 campaign saw it top its group before producing a fairytale run that ended in the final against Japan’s Gamba Osaka.
“The boys are back on track. We’ve had two of probably the best wins the club have had for a long, long time so we’re really pleased with the situation we’re in,” he said.
The Reds boss is being lauded as a master tactician after the early success in the current ACL campaign. United’s game plan seemed to frustrate Shandong, especially in the second half when an equaliser appeared unlikely for the Chinese Super League team.
The question remains though why Vidmar’s tactics and style of play works against Asian opposition but failed to set the world on fire in the 2009-10 Hyundai A-League season.
The 4-5-1 formation, employed under the watchful eye of Vidmar, appears with many variations during the course of a game to suit the fluidity of the match.
In two ACL matches, United has weathered early storms from opposition while remaining poised and ready to counter with its own attacking flurry.
United ended a disappointing domestic campaign in the dungeon though, the first time in the club’s proud history, five points from the top six and a massive 19 points from minor premier Sydney. The Reds also struggled in front of goal, managing a measly 24 goals in 27 matches, the least of any club.
So far in two games in the ACL, the Reds have found the net three times and are yet to concede. It looks like some promising signs for United and Vidmar thinks he may have the answer to why his game plan works in the ACL and not in the Hyundai A-League.
“The way Shandong played, everything was in front of us and that made it easy for us to pressure their midfielders and probably what you noticed in the second half is that they started to bypass our midfield,” he said.
“The ACL is a completely different kettle of fish as we know … And maybe it does suit the style that we want to play, that I want to play. It’s probably a little more slower in terms of the build up and that probably suits us whereas the A-League is a little bit more over the top and hustle and bustle.”
Vidmar also credits the inclusion of the new signings as breathing new life into the squad, most notably the performances of creative Argentine play-maker Marcos Flores and front-man Sergio van Dijk. The Reds boss believes it extends further than just on the pitch but also to the training track with competition for places very high.
“Yeah they’ve been good, obviously Sergio and Marcos and you know we’ve had another two, (Nigel) Boogaard and (Adam) Griffiths who unfortunately up until now haven’t had any time,” he said.
“All the players know that they’re under pressure to keep their positions in the team and they’ve really responded well. Those boys have come in, understand the situation, where they’re sitting at the moment. They’re still going out there training every day, really trying to perform hard and push those players in the team and try to knick their spot, so I think that’s really healthy.”
