The Navy Blues preparations for their eleventh tilt for the region’s top club honour were boosted by last Sunday’s ASB Premiership grand final victory over a dogged Hawke’s Bay United.
But Auckland City FC’s hopes of extending that winning run and securing a berth at another FIFA Club World Cup faces a big challenge.
Group rivals Amicale, Suva and Western United have bolstered their ranks, recruiting players from across Europe.
Amicale, the most active, have brought in former Serie A veteran Nicola Princivalli, formerly of Salernitana.
Tribulietx believes that means every match is a vital one.
“I think these new signings make our opponents better and more experienced and the format of the OFC Champions League means there will be a lot of pressure in every game.
“The competition is tougher now but we will take this campaign game by game just as we normally do. We’ll look to learn most things about our rivals and make sure we’re prepared well for every match,” Tribulietx said.
There are familiar faces in the Navy Blues line-up that give Tribulietx confidence.
The experienced Ivan Vicelich, defenders Angel Berlanga, Takuya Iwata, Marko Dordevich and the ever dependable Mario Bilen, now in his fourth season with the club, are all important selections.
“I’m not sure where this squad ranks against our previous ones. But we’ve always puts together good squads at this club.
“We have different personnel than in previous years and it is a competitive squad with a variety of options in all lines.
“We are just hoping to switch up our game to what’s required in Oceania and be competitive,” Tribulietx said.
Also included are a raft of players with All Whites or New Zealand age group international experience with Ryan De Vries and Sam Burfoot influential figures.
Goalkeepers Tamati Williams and Jacob Spoonley are joined by recent signing Danyon Drake, while three former age group internationals Ant Hobbs, Colin Murphy and Michael Den Heijer add youth to the defence and midfield.
The Auckland City FC attacking options are brimming with exciting possibilities with strikers Joao Moreira, David Browne, Oscar Garcia, De Vries and Gustavo Souto – who returns for his second spell with the Navy Blues – leading a formidable front line.
“Gustavo has been playing regularly in the third division in Spain and was a very important player at the club he’s just come from.
“He’s a very good signing for us and has past experience of the OFC Champions League so when the chance arose for him to come back to us, Gustavo was very positive about the opportunity,” he said.
The depth and quality of the squad is bolstered by free-kick expert Ivan Carril, former Wellington Phoenix player Cam Lindsay and OFC Champions League veterans Darren White, Andrew Milne, Adam McGeorge and Daewook Kim.
One player who misses out on the trip is Nigerian forward Sanni Issa.
Issa, who made a definitive impact in two penalty shoot-outs in two memorable Club World Cup penalty shoot-out wins over Moghreb Tetouan and Cruz Azul in December, stays in New Zealand.
“It is a very sad situation for Sanni as I believe he would have been very good up in Fiji where he used to play for Ba.
“Its an environment where Sanni’s best game emerges and he would have been in his element,” Tribulietx said.
Defender John Irving is unavailable and he prepares to undergo shoulder surgery.
The team departs New Zealand on Thursday at 12.55pm, setting up camp in Nadi ahead of the team’s first match against co-host club Suva at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.
The winner of each of the three groups advances to the semi-finals with the final position in the last four filled by the group runner-up with the best record.
Both semifinals are scheduled for Tuesday 21 April with the winner takes all final taking place five days later.
AUCKLAND CITY FC SQUAD
1. Tamati WILLIAMS (GK), 2. Marko DORDEVICH, 3. Takuya IWATA, 4. Mario BILEN, 5. Angel BERLANGA, 8. Colin MURPHY, 9. Darren WHITE, 10. Ryan DE VRIES, 11. Cam LINDSAY, 12. Adam McGEORGE, 13. Ivan CARRIL, 14. Ant HOBBS, 15. Ivan VICELICH (c), 16. Daewook KIM, 17. Joao MOREIRA, 18. Danyon DRAKE (GK), 19. David BROWNE, 20. Oscar GARCIA, 21. Gustavo SOUTO, 22. Andrew MILNE, 23. Sam BURFOOT, 24. Jacob SPOONLEY (GK), 25. Michael DEN HEIJER.
MANAGEMENT
Head Coach: Ramon TRIBULIETX
Assistant Coach: Ryan FAITHFULL
Goalkeeper Coach: Simone NADDI
Physiotherapists: Justin LOPES/Matt PAYNE
Manager: Terry KENNELLY
Logistics Manager: Patrick PRENDERGAST
Property Steward: Arthur EGAN
Club Doctor: Craig PANTHER
TEAM TRAVEL AND MATCH SCHEDULE
Thursday 9 April, 2015
Auckland City FC squad departs Auckland International Airport, New Zealand for Fiji.
Fiji Airways OFC Champions League 2015
Group B
Amicale (Vanuatu)
Auckland City FC (New Zealand)
Suva (Fiji)
Western United (Solomon Islands)
Group A, B and C winners advance to the semifinals
Group runner-up with the best record advances to the semifinals
Match Schedule – Group B
Saturday 11 April, 2015
Auckland City FC v Suva
ANZ Stadium, Suva
Kick-off: 4.30pm NZST
Broadcast live Sky Sports
Tuesday 14 April, 2015
Auckland City FC v Western United
ANZ Stadium, Suva
Kick-off: 4.30pm NZST
Broadcast live Sky Sports
Saturday 18 April, 2015
Amicale v Auckland City FC
ANZ Stadium, Suva
Kick-off: 7.00pm NZST
Broadcast live Sky Sports
Story courtesy of Auckland City Football Club
For more on New Zealand football visit www.nzfootball.co.nz.

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