Evergrande ready for Gamba Osaka in ACL semifinals

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Guangzhou Evergrande coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is switching focus from his Chinese Super League title race with old rival Sven-Goran Eriksson to prepare for the team's upcoming match against Gamba Osaka in the first leg of the 2015 Asian Champions League semifinal on Wednesday.

The 2002 World Cup-winning coach took over at the Chinese powerhouse in June and with three games of the domestic season remaining, his team is two points above Eriksson's Shanghai SIPG. While the timing of the continental clash with the Japanese league champions could be better, the Asian competition is far from a distraction.

Guangzhou is going for a fifth consecutive Chinese title but is desperate to add a trophy to its 2013 Champions League victory and be able to represent the continent in December's FIFA Club World Cup. The owners of the club, a wealthy Chinese property development company, have spent over $130 million on players since 2010 in a bid to become Asia's premier club.

The Chinese team comfortably disposed of Japan's Kashiwa Reysol in the quarterfinals, but Scolari is aware that Gamba, the 2008 Asian champions, will be a tougher opponent and he sees the first leg in Guangzhou as crucial.

"We know that Wednesday's game is extremely important," Scolari told reporters after Guangzhou came back from two goals down on Saturday to beat lowly Guizhou Renhe in a Chinese league match thanks to a last-minute winner from Brazilian international Paulinho, who cost $20 million to sign from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.

"We do not want to concede an away goal and have to fully concentrate in order to go to the second leg with an advantage," he added. "We know that Gamba is a strong team with a good coach. We are feeling great, however, and are in good form."

Guangzhou will be without former Real Madrid and AC Milan striker Robinho, who arrived in China in July and has not been registered for the Asian Champions League. But that still leaves Paulinho and fellow Brazil international Ricardo Goulart, the tournament's leading goal-scorer so far with eight goals, as well as Elkeson.

Gamba is unable to match the southern Chinese team in terms of star power, but has strong players of its own. Takashi Usami has scored 29 goals in his last 52 starts in the J-League. The 23 year-old former Bayern Munich player said his team is feeling confident after defeating Jeonbuk Motors of South Korea in the final seconds of their quarterfinal.

"The team is definitely in a good mood now, and we have continuously had matches where we play hard until the last minute and this has given us a lot of confidence to fight until the end," Usami said in comments posted on the Asian Football Confederation website.

Whoever wins will face either Al Hilal or Al Ahli in the final in November. Al Hilal lost to the Western Sydney Wanderers in the final of the 2014 Asian Champions League despite dominating for much of the 180 minutes, and the Saudi Arabian club is eager to go one better this time.

It must first defeat Al Ahli of the United Arab Emirates, led by former Al Hilal coach Cosmin Olaroiu.

"I know them, they know me. We have a special relationship, but the game is the game," Olaroiu said. "They have the pressure of the public and they have a lot of supporters."

"At this point in the competition nobody is superior to anybody. Whoever performs better in the match will qualify for the final."

Usami relishes Guangzhou showdown

Gamba Osaka striker Takashi Usami is looking forward to his side's AFC Champions League semi-final first leg clash against Guangzhou Evergrande on Wednesday.

Gamba Osaka striker Takashi Usami is looking forward to his side's AFC Champions League semi-final first leg clash against Guangzhou Evergrande on Wednesday.

Usami's was suspended for the J-League side's quarter-final victory over Korean champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and had to watch from the stands as Koki Yonekura's stoppage winner put them into the semi-finals, after it appeared that they would be heading out of the competition when they conceded with just two minutes left in regulation time.

In fact, Gamba's never-say-die attitude have seen them score late, decisive goals throughout their campaign so far, with wins over Thailand's Buriram United and Korea Republic's Seongnam FC earlier in the tournament secured in similar fashion.

"The team is definitely in a good mood now, and we have continuously had matches where we play hard until the last minute and this has given us a lot of confidence to fight until the end," the 23-year-old Japan international told the official AFC website.

"I was so excited when the pass from Kim Jung-ya reached Yonekura and then he went through on goal to score, but as a footballer, I wanted to be on the pitch myself.

"In the next match, I want to show how I can contribute to the team and help us go to the final."  

Standing in the way of Gamba's pursuit of a first final berth since 2008 is and Luiz Felipe Scolari's tournament favourites, who beat another J-League club Kashiwa Reysol 4-2 on aggregate to secure their place in the last four.

Guangzhou go into the match in fine form, having last tasted defeat in any competition at the end of May.

"Guangzhou are one of the best team in Asia and they will be coming at us hard seeking for the win," added Usami.

"It's going to be a seesaw match and a tough one. We'll have to stay focused and play until the last minute with a strong will to win.

"I'm not sure that it's necessarily an advantage that we'll have the second leg at home, but the fact that we could make it to the final in front of our home supporters does make us more determined and feel encouraged."

Whilst Usami's availability is a major boost for Gamba coach Kenta Hasegawa, they will be without services of star defender Daiki Niwa on Wednesday, after he picked up his second booking of the knock-out stage last time out and is suspended for the semi-final first leg.

"We'll have to unite as a team and work hard against Guangzhou, who are a strong team," said Hasegawa.

"They are very organised and have a solid system, so I expect there to be few chances in the match for both teams, and we'll need to take them when they come our way.

"It was a huge win against Jeonbuk, a great result for Gamba. We will need to take advantage of this great result and take the momentum to the next match in the semi-final."