The group stage, being held in Lautoka and Ba in Fiji, has seen the 12 participating teams split into three groups of four ensuring fans around the region are set for some interesting and intriguing match ups.
This week oceaniafootball.com will take you through a group-by-group look at the teams that will be competing in this year’s OFC Champions League group stage.
Here we take a look at the line-up in Group B featuring Amicale FC of Vanuatu, New Zealand’s Auckland City FC, AS Dragon from Tahiti and hosts Nadi FC of Fiji in what is one of the toughest groups of the three.
Amicale have had a string of consecutive appearances in the Champions League since they arrived on the scene in 2010. The best finish for the side was in 2011 when the strike power of Fenedy Masauvakalo led them all the way to a final home and away play-off against Auckland City. Amicale lost out 6-1 on aggregate to the eventual champions. They were again in the running for the final in 2013, but after losing 2-0 at home and 2-1 in Auckland to Waitakere United missed the chance to contest another final.
The side will take a different form this time around with a number of new players joining the ranks from around the world, plus a new coach, Nathan Hall of Australia. Hall believes his side is ready to play to their potential in Fiji following an extensive pre-tournament build-up in the Port Vila League mixed with both domestic and international friendlies.
“We have made some pretty big changes to the squad and brought in lots of new players so combinations and getting players to understand each other takes time,” he says.
“All in all, there is a lot of desire, determination and hunger within the squad at the moment and here’s hoping we can carry that energy into the OFC Champions League Group Stage and do the people of Vanuatu proud.”
The side is littered with stars from around Oceania and further afield. Masauvakalo will be holding the flag high for his countrymen alongside goalkeeper Chikau Mansale as the squad’s veterans. The influence of Solomon Islands futsal powerhouse Jack Wetney is sure to influence as will the presence of Alick Maemae and Nelson Sale. The Serbian trio are somewhat of an unknown entity in these parts but Nikola Vasilic arrived in Vanuatu via North American Soccer League side San Antonia Scorpians FC giving him a level of experience that is sure to trouble his opponents.
“Myself and the players know that we need to get off to a good start and that one or two mistakes could make the difference between winning the group and/or finishing third or fourth,” Hall says.
Auckland City are in fine form at the moment, having just added the ASB Premiership title to the trophy cabinet for the first time in five years. While their domestic efforts have been up and down, this competition is theirs for the taking.
Auckland City are about to make a record 10th appearance in the OFC Champions League, and in that time have nailed down five wins, and five FIFA Club World Cup appearances.
After a short break between the end of the national competition and preparations for the Champions League getting underway, coach Ramon Tribulietx says his charges are ready to defend their title.
“We needed a bit of a mental rather than physical break. I think the players look pretty fresh now and we will start working on the tactical readjustments for the Champions League and on recovering a competitive edge,” Tribulietx says.
They’ll be a hard team to beat, but Tribulietx has lost a number of key players from the previous campaign including goal scorer Manel Exposito and midfielder Albert Riera to professional football. Exposito’s replacement Roy Krishna followed Riera to the Wellington Phoenix mid-season leaving Tribulietx with somewhat of a selection dilemma. Fortunately he’s had a number of players step up to the task, among them Emiliano Tade who has more than filled those goal scoring boots left behind.
Following the conclusion of the season Tribulietx has further bolstered the squad with some stand out domestic performers from around the nation. Hawke’s Bay United’s Sean Lovemore and Sean Morris have joined the side while from further afield comes former K-League midfielder Daewook Kim who Tribulietx expects to be an important player moving forward in the competition.
“Kim has experience in the K-League, he is technically very good and very fast on the ball. He has everything to be an important player in our midfield, but needs some time to readjust to what we do as well. Obviously these players come to fill in the positions we have lost players form and will probably add a bit of competition to the squad as well.”
AS Dragon made their debut in the OFC Champions League in 2013 and created a little history of their own as they remain unbeaten against Auckland City which is no mean feat for any side.
Last year they were certainly a formidable squad as the competition became a training ground for Tahiti’s Confederations Cup bid. While the number of internationals has thinned out, there remains a talented core for coach Ludovic Graugnard, also assistant coach to the national side, to work with.
Captain Nicolas Vallar is a solid entity who, with temper in check, could prove decisive in defence. Steevy Chong Hue scored the decider for Tahiti in the OFC Nations Cup final in 2012 while Jonathan Tehau was a national hero after scoring against Nigeria at the FIFA Confederations Cup. The strike-duo remain in the Dragon-fold and will be looking to add to their already impressive resumes. Teaonui and Alvin Tehau are also in the team as is goalkeeper Mikael Roche.
Graugnard says the side have been training daily over the past few weeks to make sure they are ready both physically and tactically for their upcoming encounters.
“I have a lot of confidence in my group, which I know very well. A lot of them were present during the Champions League last year and were in Brasil with me for the Confederations Cup,” he says.
“They have a lot of quality and experience. We can still taste our elimination from last year’s competition especially as we never lost to the eventual winners Auckland City. Unfortunately we lost one of our key players to injury last week, but we will be ready to lift the title in Group B – the most difficult group.”
Graugnard is well aware of the massive mountain his side has to climb in order to finish at the top of this group.
“Amicale have made a lot of recruitments, most notably with Europeans, and made their intentions clear, Auckland are the favourites as they’re defending their title, and Nadi are playing at home which will make them a good team spurred on by their public. I think that we are definitely in the most difficult group.”
Hosts Nadi have already undergone some hiccups on their road to the 2014 OFC Champions League Group Stage, with home ground Prince Charles Park ruled out as a venue and forcing their matches to be played in the neighbouring Churchill Park in Lautoka.
Fortunately the team has pushed that out of their minds and focused solely on preparing for the Champions League. With a strong line-up that mixes both experience and youth, Nadi have no intention sitting bottom of the table when the group stage concludes.
The side is a strong mix of both experience and youth with the younger contingent competently represented by Fiji U-20 attacker Rusiate Matarerenga. Son of former international Watasoni Voli, Matarerenga comes from good stock and will be looking to leave a legacy of his own.
Coach Kamal Swamy is looking forward to having a large crowd of supporters getting behind the team as it attempts to progress to the next stage of the competition.
“The team has been in camp for well over a week now preparing. I expect the team to perform at the highest level to match defending champions Auckl
and City and the other two strong teams in our pool, Amicale and AS Dragon,” Swamy says.
“This will be the first time many of our players feature at this highest level, while we believe the other teams have players who have already experienced this before so we want to make sure we leave no stones overturned on our preparations.”
Group B action gets underway on Tuesday, 8 April with the opener between Amicale FC and AS Dragon before reigning champions Auckland City FC take on Nadi FC. Both matches are being played at Churchill Park in Lautoka, Fiji.