It is not nothing new for the Oceania football fans that Auckland City comes as heavy favourites for this edition of the OFC Champions League. The New Zealand powerhouse won nine of the 15 participations in the most important club football tournament of the region and in 2020 they expect to be back to the winning ways after not sealing the title for two years a row.
But the result of a football match comes just after 90 minutes; Auckland City will have to overcome all the 16 sides in the competition to grab their 10th trophy of the regional tournament. In the 2019 edition, the apotheotic win of AS Magenta in the semifinal over the Navy Blues is still something fresh in José Figueira men’s mind – the same mistakes can not happen to finally retain back the continental glory.
One of the most important players of the offensive structure of the former Team Wellington coach is ready for the challenge. The 21-year-old wonderkid Logan Rogerson is there to be key upfront – being a major threat for Ba, Venus and Lupe o le Soaga in the group stage. “Our expectation is to win the Champions League and qualify for the Club World Cup“, says the forward.
Rogerson and his teammates are prepared for the tournament, as they top the ISPS Handa Premiership, the first tier of football in New Zealand: “The preparation is already going very good. We are enjoying being in Tahiti“, mentions Rogerson.
Rogerson’s coach, José Figueira, already knows how it is to win the OFC Champions League as he guided Team Wellington to the title in the 2018 edition of the tournament; his advices are certainly important for Auckland City squad: “The main advice from José is that we must stick to our own style of play and keep to the system in every game regardless of the score and who we are playing“, says OlyWhites captain Logan Rogerson.
The message from the coach is clear: we are here to win and we are going to play to win. Auckland City is set to have no mercy – if they have the opportunity to score, they are not going to waste it. “We have a lot of experienced players that have played against these teams [from Oceania] and have won Champions League titles. The coaching staff will prepare us perfect for these matches“, states Rogerson.
The Navy Blues have a stellar squad; Rogerson will have alongside him the All-Whites members Myer Bevan, Adam Mitchell, Clayton Lewis, Tom Doyle and Cameron Howieson. Another very important names are the Ni-Vanuatu international Brian Kaltak, the Spaniards Albert Riera and Angel Berlanga and the legend and top-goalscorer in history for Auckland City, the Argentinian Emiliano Tade.
When the Fijians of Ba enter the pitch to face the New Zealand side in their debut in the tournament, they know they will have a hard task: Auckland is back, stronger than ever, but only after 90 minutes we will know the outcome of the clash.
Oceania Football Center 