Ramon Tribulietx guided Auckland City FC to a record fourth consecutive OFC Champions League title last season and now the Catalan-born coach has his sights set on the OFC President’s Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
“The OFC President’s Cup gives us three very good games against different styles of play which will enrich our experience ahead of the Club World Cup. It is a good plus for us.
“But we will have to play a lot of games in a short period of time, and not long before the Club World Cup, so that’s a situation we will need to manage smartly and make good use of our whole squad,” he says.
The six team tournament will split into two groups of three with the winner of each section advancing to the final on Sunday 23 November at Trusts Arena.
Busaiteen of Bahrain, Bodden Town of the Cayman Islands, Singapore U-23, Fiji U-20 and Amicale make up the field alongside Tribulietx’s Aucklanders.
“The President’s Cup will help us gain experience at readjusting to different type of opposition. That’s something we’ll have to do in Morocco. The level of the clubs participating in this new competition suggest it will be a good technical and tactical experience for our team.
“We don’t have many opportunities to play against teams from the other side of the world. There’s always differences on how the game is played, technically and tactically. The game in Asia is generally very fast and in Central and South America the game is very technical,” he says.
Tribulietx says his OFC President’s Cup opponents, while an unknown quantity, are worthy of respect.
“Two of the clubs are leading names in their own domestic leagues so we will have to get some footage of them shortly to ensure we are well prepared.
“Busaiteen have a very good mixture of players from Bahrain and Brazil, also some players from other Middle Eastern countries as well. The game on that side of the world is very technical, with skilful players and they will definitely be a very good opponent.
“Bodden Town are the current champions of the Cayman Islands, made up mainly of Cayman nationals, and they have some experience from playing internationally in the Caribbean region, so they will be another good experience for us,” he says.
Tribulietx says there are qualities in the rest of the field to be wary of.
“Singapore U-23 will be competitive. The game in the Asian Football Confederation is very fast but again with a different style of football.
“We know Amicale but we’re aware they’ve made some changes from last season. They have dangerous players who are very fast, very skilful on the ball and they can be unpredictable which makes them difficult to contend with,” he says, “I watched a couple of Fiji U-20 during the qualifiers and I’m sure coaches Ravinesh Kumar and Frank Farina will make sure Fiji are tactically very strong.”
With the FIFA Club World Cup on the horizon, Tribulietx says the overall standard in Oceania is lifting and that its better to be pragmatic rather than unrealistic about competing at the top level.
“I think we are honestly reducing that gap by being more professional with what we do every year, and obviously the previous experiencies are making us more competitive.
“I think in terms of preparation we are also getting better, we have a great group of experienced professionals in our staff that work very hard to try and give the players the best of the opportunities to be well prepared,” he says.
For a good measure of just how difficult it was to win the OFC Champions League again, Tribulietx says last season’s epic showdown with Amicale sticks out in his memory most.
“The final with Amicale was probably it was the most difficult final game we’ve ever faced. We had to come back from 0-1 down against a very good side, with some very good local and european players, it was definitely the most difficult one.
“But there is no easy match in Oceania anymore. All of the finals have been very difficult, we had a very difficult game in Tahiti in 2012, when we beat Tefana 2-1 at home.
“That was a very tight margin to go and play the return leg in Tahiti. The 2013 final with Waitakere was very tight one too, we had lost a few times to them through the season and they were a very competitive team to face,” he recalls.
Tribulietx says the reason for such competitive, tight, contests in Oceania club football is down to an overall improvement in the pacific in preparation, tactics, player recruitment and structure.
“I believe teams in the pacific are getting stronger, more competitive and with the addition of players with european experience it makes the challenge a lot tougher.
“The other trend is that the game is tactically structured much more than in the past, and this is good for everyone. A stronger competition will make all of Oceania club football stronger,” he says.
With the ASB Premiership, minor premiership and ASB Charity Cup secured, alongside a record four-in-a-row OFC Champions League titles, does Tribulietx feel a diminished sense of motivation as a coach ahead of the Club World Cup?
The Navy Blues have been narrowly beaten three years in a row – Kashiwa Reysol 2-0, Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-0 and Raja Casablanca 2-1 – all heartbreaking near misses.
“I think the tournament is the motivation in itself. The FIFA Club World Cup places you next to the best teams in their respective confederations.
“It does not really get much better than that, it is a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved and we are really looking forward to going to Morocco again,” he says.