Nothing to lose for Waitakere United in Tokyo

NZCity - A little bit of advance spying from Waitakere United coach Chris Milicich may give his side an edge in the opening match of the FIFA World Club Cup this week in Tokyo.

Waitakere United faced Iranian champions Sepahan in the quarterfinal qualifier and Milicich has already seen them play in Asian competition. He made the special trip to Japan a week and a half ago and says he is well aware of what their strengths on the park will be. He says they are a very strong counter-attacking side and while they can run from midfield it is the speed of that counter-attack that will be the biggest threat.

Milicich says his side is 100 percent aware of the tactics they will employ and they are confident they can win the opening match. He says it is a huge event and the facilities and five-star accommodation at the Tokyo Hilton are certainly helping.

The West Auckland club is in Tokyo courtesy of their O-League title win. They realised they were a long way from home when the side was greeted by more than one hundred journalists and had to travel more than an hour and a half to training.

If the Oceania champions can get past Sepahan they will face Japanese club Urawa Reds in the quarterfinals.