Gamba, a club that has once stood at the top of Asia, will once again take on the Asian battlefield. For the first time in the club's history, they will be competing in the ACL2, an important tournament that will open the door to next season's ACL if they win.
"The importance of the ACL is increasing every year, and we want to win every single match leading up to the ACL," said Ichimori, who will be taking on an Asian challenge for the first time as Gamba's goalkeeper, and these words are shared by everyone associated with Gamba.

This will be the first time on an international stage under Poyatos' management, and the coach said, "It's been a while since we last competed in the ACL, but with everyone's hard work and everyone back here, I want to get the tournament going in a good way."

It goes without saying that there are no easy games in Asia, but Usami, who has experience reaching the semi-finals of the ACL in the 2015 season, said the following.
"We absolutely cannot afford to lose home games, and we have to proceed with the game with the basic assumption that we will struggle away from home."
Under the regulations, the top two teams from the group stage will advance to the knockout stage, but with the support of their supporters at the helm, the match against Toho will be one in which the focus will be on three points rather than on the quality of the game.

Toho, led by a Spanish Head Coach, is primarily focused on ball possession, but Gamba is aiming for a style like the one they showed in their match against Urawa, where they control the ball while not letting up in defense. "We want to avoid conceding the first goal and overwhelm the opposition with our style of football," Kurokawa said.

The ball used will be different from that used in domestic tournaments, and the first match of the ACL2 will be played under a unique sense of tension, but Gamba's strength lies in the fact that they have many players with previous experience of playing in Asian matches, including not only Usami but also Kurata, Ichimori , and Kurokawa. Ichimori , who played in the ACL while with Yokohama F･Marinos , also plans to focus on the details of their play, saying, "The first thing we need to be careful of is set pieces and counterattacks. The ball will also change, and the GK in particular will have to adjust to that."

Toho, who will be heading to Panasonic Stadium Suita, is a Hong Kong team that won the domestic cup competition last season and qualified for ACL2. This will be their second consecutive year in ACL2, and the team base led by Spanish Head Coach Lozada is still going strong. Mitsuda, who played against Toho as a member of Hiroshima last season, said with a serious look on his face, "They have several technically high-level foreign players, and some fast players up front. They have the ability to counter and score with one shot. If we show any weakness, we'll be defeated, so we have to give it our all now."

One player to watch out for in particular is new recruit Okubo, who also played for Tottori in J3. Kurokawa, who was in the same year as them on the Kansai University soccer team, is also a "striker-like player with a good header," so they need to be wary of his scoring instincts. It will undoubtedly be a battle where even a moment's lapse will not be tolerated, including set pieces.
"I'm very happy to be back on the Asian stage after such a long time, and it's something the club is proud of. Since we're doing it, we want to aim for the top and do our best together," said Usami, expressing his determination for what will be a long journey on the Asian stage.
Now it's time to head into battle in Asia. With the support of their fans, Gamba aims to start off with a win at home.