Gamba suffered a 0-1 defeat in the Emperor's EMPEROR'S CUP final, when they were on the brink of winning their first title in nine years. "A loss is not a good game, but the team gave it their all," said Head Coach Poyatos, who shed tears of regret along with the defeated players in the final. He spoke of how the team, despite missing Usami, fought on equal terms with Kobe.
Gamba's mission is to use the disappointment they felt on the pitch at the Japan National Stadium as motivation for their next battle.
"We have a chance to go to the ACL. It may be difficult to get close to that point, but that's why we have to fight hard," said Head Coach Poyatos.

Gamba is in 4th place in the league, but there is still a chance they can finish in the top 2 and qualify for the ACLE, and they are only 3 points behind 3rd place Machida. The players have already changed their mindset. Fukuoka also expressed the team's thoughts, saying, "We can't stop here, and with two games left, we have to show the culmination of this season."
Although Gamba suffered their first defeat in six official matches in the EMPEROR'S CUP, they have managed to get through their last four league matches with three wins and one draw, and will be on an upward trend heading into the final away game of the season.

Niigata is currently in 16th place, but a draw or better will ensure their J1 status, so like Gamba, they will be highly motivated to take on the challenge. Since Head Coach Poyatos took over, Niigata has a good record against them, with two wins and one draw, but he respects Niigata. Head Coach Poyatos says that they are a "team with an established style." Their style of carefully moving the ball is still strong, and although they missed out on their first ever Levain Cup victory, they lost in a penalty shootout after extra time. Their collective style cannot be underestimated, and Ono, who previously played for Gamba, has made his presence felt in the front line with four goals and one assist, while Komi, who scored two goals in the Levain Cup final and has three goals and one assist in the last five official matches, is the attacker to watch out for.
As both teams are focused on ball possession, "The key to the game is whether we can keep the ball. If the other team starts to have the ball, we will struggle," said Head Coach Poyatos.
Although Gamba had some issues with their finishing ability in the EMPEROR'S CUP final, they moved the ball aggressively and dominated the game against Kobe. However, the key to the matchup will be how Kurokawa will contain Fujiwara, who has scored five goals and provided two assists despite playing as a right back.
"We need to focus and switch gears so that we can move up one spot. I want everyone to bring that feeling to the Niigata match," said Kurokawa.

And the mission to win is to break open the opponent's goal, and in the absence of Usami, Sakamoto will be the key man in the front line. Sakamoto, who scored the dramatic winning goal in the previous match against Iwata, is currently on a 8-goal tally. He has his sights set on his goal of double digits, but the humiliation of not taking a single shot in the EMPEROR'S CUP final will be a challenge for him in the remaining two matches.
"I couldn't do anything in the final, so I want to use that frustration and energy to get to the next game," said Sakamoto.
The final two games begin to open the door to Asia.