Belief the key to Reds' ACL campaign

Adelaide United assistant coach Luciano Trani says that belief is the key to toppling Japanese giants Gamba Osaka in tomorrow night’s Asian Champions League clash.

Gamba has never lost against an Australian side and will have fond memories of Hindmarsh Stadium after they defeated the Reds in the 2008 ACL final 5-0 on aggregate (2-0 in Adelaide).

Luciano Trani & Eugene Galekovic

Trani said there is a mental aspect to the game his side must conquer if they are any chance to beat their foreign opponents.

"If you're going to play Gamba, you have got to believe that you can win," he said.

"The history probably doesn't suggest that.

"But we believe we have got the patterns of play we have been working on ... and if we can just maintain our discipline, I'm sure we can win tomorrow night," Trani said.

United’s Captain Eugene Galekovic says his side are pumped for the grudge match and will be looking for consecutive ACL victories after opening their account with a 2-1 win in Tashkent.

“We’re feeling alright, we’ve been looking forward to this game since we played Bunyodkor and coming off a win the boys really want to get two on the trot,” Galekovic said.

Trani said United will have to be wary of the threat Japanese international Yasuhito Endo will pose as he has the potential to upset United’s structure.

“Endo’s the type of player that will stay away from the action and if you man-mark him it takes one of our key players out of a vital space and we don’t want to do that,” he said.

Gamba Osaka have lost their last three matches and sit bottom of the group after a shock 3-0 loss at home to Pohang Steelers in their opening ACL fixture.