Manchester United beat LDU Quito 1-0 in front of 68,682 fans at Yokohama International Stadium, with Wayne Rooney scoring the only goal of a largely one-sided affair.

United had to work hard for their victory following the 49th minute dismissal of central defender Nemanja Vidic for an elbow to the face of Liga de Quito striker Claudio Bieler.

Despite enjoying a one-man advantage Liga offered little in the way of attack, with midfielder Alejandro Manjos going the closest for the underdogs from Ecuador with two ferocious long-range strikes that were brilliantly saved by United's veteran keeper Edwin van der Sar.

Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the game in the 73rd minute as he took an intelligent pass from Cristiano Ronaldo before burying an accurate right-foot strike in the bottom corner of the goal.

In the day's other game Gamba Osaka won the 3/4 playoff, beating Mexican outfit Pachuca 1-0.

Masato Yamazaki scored the only goal of the game, as the J. League team largely outplayed their central American opponents.

Manchester United will take on Liga de Quito in the final of 2008 FIFA Club World Cup after both sides won their respective semi-finals.

English giants United beat J. League outfit Gamba Osaka 5-3 in a pulsating encounter watched by 67,618 fans at Yokohama International Stadium, with Wayne Rooney coming off the bench to score twice for Sir Alex Ferguson's team.

A day earlier a crowd of 33,316 braved driving rain at the National Stadium in Tokyo as Liga de Quito took advantage of two defensive lapses to beat Mexican side Pachuca 2-0 in an error-riddled encounter.

Cristiano Ronaldo remained tight-lipped about the prospects of a move to Real Madrid in the aftermath of Manchester United's win, instead preferring to concentrate on the prospect of United becoming the first British club to lift the FIFA Club World Cup in its current incarnation.

The final will take place at Yokohama International Stadium on December 21. 

So much for that.

It took all of a quarter of an hour for Gamba Osaka to underline their total supremacy in the AFC Champions League final, as the Kansai club romped to a 5-0 aggregate win over Adelaide United.

Questions will now be asked of how a team currently lying seventh in their domestic championship, who were beaten 3-1 away at Shimizu S-Pulse in the match preceding the first leg of the final and 3-1 at home to FC Tokyo in the match sandwiched in between, could prove so technically superior to a team regarded as one of Australia's premier club sides.

That a player like Hayato Sasaki caused so many problems for the Adelaide defence when the Gamba winger has started the total of TWO games in the Japanese top flight, and has played the full ninety minutes in J1 on a total of ZERO occasions, surely speaks volumes for the alarming disparity between the two sides.

The unsubstianted rumours suggesting that Sydney FC are willing to offer Sasaki a reputed $A600,000, three-year contract perhaps says more about the A-League's questionable scouting policy than it does about the financial gulf between the two leagues.

A-League fans who harp on about Brazilian strikers in Japan generally miss two key points.

The first is that, for complex cultural reasons, Japanese strikers are far more reluctant to shoot than their Brazilian counterparts. That's precisely the reason that Brazilian strikers are brought to Japan in the first place. But it's the fact that Brazilian strikers ply their trade in Japan at all that is key. 

If A-League clubs were after a lesson in scouting, they might consider giving Kawasaki Frontale a call. In Carlos Alberto Carvalho dos Anjos Junior, better known in Japan as Juninho, they found a match made in heaven. Converted from an attacking midfielder, Junhino has scored more than 130 goals in a little over 200 league appearances for the Kanagawa side. 

That didn't stop Frontale from recalling Tokyo Verdy's former goal machine Hulk from his loan spell in the capital. It was Kawasaki who originally brought the combustible youngster to Japan, and while things didn't work out for Hulk at Frontale, he now plys his trade for FC Porto, where he featured against Arsenal in this season's UEFA Champions League.

To replace him, Frontale signed Santos midfielder Vitor Junior on loan. Supremely skilled, the tricky midfielder promptly set up one and scored another on debut against Urawa Reds at Saitama Stadium. He joins 21-year-old ex-Santos striker Renatinho in the squad, who scored a goal in his first start for the club, before scoring two more in his next J. League match, nailing down a regular starting role in the process.

Plenty of big name Brazilians have pitched up in the J. League in recent years, including current Urawa Reds midfielder Robson Ponte and Kashiwa Reysol striker França, both once of the German Bundesliga. Yet plenty more Brazilians arrive unheralded.

Omiya Ardija can take credit for attracting two of them, although the Saitama side didn't quite have the foresight or financial clout to keep hold of them. These days bustling striker Leandro plays his football for Vissel Kobe, for whom he's scored seven league goals this season, while laying on several more for team-mates Yoshito Okubo and Takayuki Yoshida.

Baré is a more well-known case. He played much of his club football in Japan in the Second Division - having been lured to the country by Omiya Ardija, before eventually becoming the fulcrum of the Gamba Osaka attack until his departure for the oil-rich Gulf. 

In the A-League, only Melbourne Victory's Fred can be considered an unqualified success, although Adelaide United duo Diego and Cassio are more than useful acquisitions, with the jury still out on striker Cristiano. 

The fact that Fred departed the A-League for Major League Soccer after a solitary championship winning season with Melbourne Victory provides a sobering reality check as to just how much money A-League clubs have to splash. Yet with "marquee dollars" being spent on Socceroos like John Aloisi at Sydney FC, Archie Thompson at Melbourne Victory and now Jade North at the puzzlingly-named North Queensland Fury, it's a wonder that A-League clubs don't look north to try and lure some of the Brazilian talent on offer in the J. League a sunny sea-change Down Under.

That may be easier said than done - money is the first obstacle, but clearly Japanese clubs have spent years building their extensive scouting networks in Brazil, and with Japan and Brazil having forged socio-economic ties long ago, the A-League must also compete with the J. League's long history of signing Brazilians.

Still, with Lucas Severino having scored both goals in Gamba's 2-0 win over Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium, A-League apologists may be quick to jump on the "Brazilians in Japan" bandwagon all over again. They're entitled to do so, but they might also want to consider how the A-League could be improved by signing one or two of the kinds of Brazilians who regularly lob up in Japan in the first place.

On the surface, things look fairly bleak for Adelaide United going into the second leg of their AFC Champions League final clash at Hindmarsh Stadium on November 12. 

3-0 down from the first leg to Japanese outfit Gamba Osaka, missing key men Eugene Galekovic and Angelo Costanzo through suspension and with a 17-year-old goalkeeper in the form of Mark Birighitti between the posts. 

Still, if ever there was a chance for an Australian team to demonstrate the kind of "fighting spirit" they're always banging on about, it is now.

All tickets for this match were snapped up within hours of going on sale, so it will be a disappointment if anything less than a capacity crowd of 17,000 crams into Hindmarsh Stadium. With a vocal crowd behind them - hopefully former United skipper Ross Aloisi has managed to fire up the locals with another impassioned pre-match call to arms - United should at least be able to put Gamba under pressure, whether they can pull the three goals back or not.

Should United lose this game then both clubs will go through to the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. That will likely herald another showdown between the two, provided United can overcome New Zealand side Waitakere United in a qualifying play-off, and the South Australians won't want to go into a one-off clash with Gamba on the back of another demoralising defeat.

The return of the hard-running Paul Reid from injury is a bonus for United in midfield. It's a cliché as old as the game itself, but if United can pull an early goal back then they can put Gamba under an inordinate amount of pressure. Gamba are not quite from the same stock as a team like Kashima Antlers - able to control possession in midfield and used to the pressure cooker of title showdowns.

The Osakans have choked before. How cool they are under pressure in Adelaide may go a long way to determining whether Gamba chokes again.

There was an excellent piece by SBS football analyst Scott McIntyre last week that managed to put Gamba Osaka's upcoming two-legged AFC Champions League final with Adelaide United into perspective.

In it, McIntyre rightly rubbishes the myth that Japanese clubs have merely "bought" success in Asia, pointing out that clubs such as Gamba Osaka have run fully-fledged youth academies for years that have promoted countless numbers of youngsters into the ranks of professional football.

Just as alarming a myth being perpetuated in Australian football circles suggests that Gamba Osaka have already qualified for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup. While "fact-checking" seems to be a byword for "time-wasting" within certain sections of the Australian media, the reality is that Gamba Osaka have certainly not qualified for the Club World Cup.

With Gamba's chances of winning the J. League looking increasingly remote, they need to win the AFC Champions League to qualify for the Club World Cup, which is precisely why Scott McIntyre claims that Gamba Osaka have much more to play for than Adelaide United, who will take part in the Club World Cup whether they win the Champions League or not.

Certainly Gamba will be looking to take something back to South Australia from the first leg of this clash at the dilapidated Expo '70 Stadium in Suita City on November 5, however Akira Nishino's side may not go into this match brimming with confidence after being smashed 3-1 by a rampant Shimizu S-Pulse in their last match in the J. League, while Gamba's weekend Emperor's Cup clash with J2 side Ventforet Kofu has been postponed until November 16.

Nevertheless having beaten Adelaide's A-League counterparts Melbourne Victory twice in the group stage of this season's AFC Champions League, Gamba will be desperate to become the second Japanese side to lift the current incarnation of the Champions League following Urawa Reds' success last season.

In midfielder Yasuhito Endo, Gamba possess one of the shining stars of Asian football, and the talismanic Japan international is well rested having sat out Gamba's defeat to S-Pulse through suspension. Indeed the entire Gamba squad is well rested - their last competitive match came on October 26 - and there is plenty of experience within the Gamba ranks as captain Satoshi Yamaguchi approaches 400 professional appearances, while long-range shooting specialist Takahiro Futagawa has played more than 250 times for Gamba.

What Gamba will come up against is an Adelaide side that has made winning the Champions League their mission. Aurelio Vidmar's side have played with obvious passion and constant grit throughout this tournament. Unfortunately for Vidmar he comes up against a Gamba outfit synonymous with precisely those qualities.

With Gamba forced to subsist in a baseball heartland in which J2-dwelling city rivals Cerezo Osaka have far more potential to command popular support, an AFC Champions League title would do nicely for a club looking to increase their popularity throughout the Kansai region. Moreover with Gamba having announced ambitious plans to build a 35,000-capacity "English style" stadium on the site of their current Expo-land home, the Champions League final has suddenly taken on "must-win" proportions for the club that started out a modest existence as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Soccer Club in 1980.

Still, Adelaide United will be just as desperate for victory in this continental showpiece final - particularly after their most recent 3-2 home defeat to Melbourne Victory, and with full houses likely to pack into Expo '70 Stadium on the northern fringes of Osaka on November 5 and again in Adelaide's Hindmarsh Stadium on November 12, all eyes will be on East Asia for this mouth-watering clash of Asia's best in the 2008 AFC Champions League final.

The 2008 AFC Champions League will feature a final showdown between Japan's Gamba Osaka and Australia's Adelaide United. 

Gamba saw off fellow J. League outfit Urawa Reds in their two-legged semi-final fixture, winning the second leg 3-1 in front of 53,287 baying fans at Saitama Stadium thanks to goals from captain Satoshi Yamaguchi, a rare strike from Tomokazu Myojin and another from influential midfielder Yasuhito Endo. 

Adelaide United qualified for the final despite a 1-0 defeat to Uzbek side Bunyodkor in Tashkent, with the South Australia's 3-0 home win in the first leg of the tie enough to propel the A-League club into the final. 

The victory marks a double coup for United, who will go on to represent the Asian Football Confederation at the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup in December, where they will be hopeful of winning through to a money-spinning semi-final clash with reigning European champions Manchester United at Yokohama International Stadium on December 18.

Whether United can overcome Gamba Osaka in the AFC Champions League final is another matter, but history would appear to be on Aurelio Vidmar's side after United knocked out the highly-fancied Kashima Antlers in the quarter-finals.

Gamba, meanwhile, beat fellow Australian side Melbourne Victory 4-3 in Melbourne and 2-0 in Osaka in the group stage of the competition before knocking out defending Asian champions Urawa Reds in the final four, despite many claiming the Kansai side to be the weakest of the Japanese representatives in this season's tournament.

The first leg of the final will take place at Expo '70 Stadium on the northern fringes of Osaka on November 5, and club officials will be hoping for even more than the 17,166 fans who packed into the compact ground for the first leg of their semi-final clash with Urawa, while Gamba's Emperor's Cup clash at home to J2 side Ventforet Kofu has now been pushed back to November 16.

Adelaide United chief executive Sam Ciccarello has ruled out moving the second leg of the final - set down for November 12 - from United's 17,000-capacity Hindmarsh Stadium, claiming that his side does not wish to give up "home advantage" by playing away from the boutique, purpose-built football stadium.

Both the AFC Champions League final and the FIFA Club World Cup will mark a financial windfall for United, with the Asian champions awarded $AU860,000 in prize money - the runner-up is guaranteed $AU575,000 - while the minimum amount earned for participation in the FIFA Club World Cup is $AU750,000.

Liga Deportiva Universitaria's remarkable penalty shoot-out victory over Brazilian giants Fluminense in the recent Copa Libertadores final will cause headaches in Japan. That's because as continental club champions, LDU Quito have won through to face the likes of English champions Manchester United and Mexican outfit Pachuca at the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup.

The 2009 and 2010 editions of the FIFA Club World Cup will be played in Dubai, and critics suggest that FIFA's desire to move the tournament away from Japan stems partly from a lack of local support. All three of the Club World Cup finals played at Yokohama International Stadium have drawn capacity crowds, yet the match-ups in those finals have been as follows;

Liverpool vs Sao Paulo

Barcelona vs Internacional

AC Milan vs Boca Juniors

To suggest that South American football is well regarded in Japan is true only to an extent. Certainly the J. League borrowed heavily from aspects of Brazilian and Argentinian football culture when Japan kicked-off its professional football league, and the biggest Brazilian and Argentinian teams are popular in Japan. Boca Juniors were well supported at last year's Club World Cup, but that was partly because current Urawa striker Naohiro Takahara once played for Boca, albeit briefly.

That fact that Liga de Quito have now booked their place in this year's Club World Cup will cause headaches for tournament organisers. Enticing local fans to the preliminary rounds of the competition was already a hard-sell, but FIFA have at least been able to rely on one European and one South American giant to sell tickets to semi-final fixtures. Now Liga de Quito will throw a spanner in the works, with the Ecuadorian club unheard of in Japanese football circles.

A Fluminense victory in the Copa Libertadores final would have been welcomed with open arms, given that Flu's powerful striker Washington scored 64 goals in just 85 J. League games for Tokyo Verdy and Urawa Reds. "Washington Returns" would have been the banner headline of the day, with the Japanese public no doubt keen to bask in the globe-trotting striker's reflected glory.

Liga de Quito will inspire no such headlines in Japan. Manchester United will invariably prove the biggest drawcard at the tournament - although the fake jersey sellers outside the National Stadium in Tokyo will groan in disbelief should Cristiano Ronaldo choose to move on, but even if a Japanese team manages to make it through to the semi-finals of the tournament, the prospect of a half-empty National Stadium looms large for what is supposedly a showpiece FIFA tournament.

Well, it had to happen. Urawa Reds have been crowned Asian champions, and who could begrudge them? Yes they played boring, cynical football to reach the final, but in the end they were too strong for Iranian side Sepahan - who knocked Kawasaki Frontale out at the quarter-final stage.

I haven't had time (okay, I mean "the desire") to read the morning headlines but I can guess what they say. In fact, I thought I'd help out by writing my own report and seeing if I can't get it on the global news wires.

Urawa Reds crowned Asia's best, most likely to become America's Next Top Model

Urawa Reds have won the AFC Champions League after beating Iranian side Sepahan 2-0 in front of 59,034 fans at Saitama Stadium in the second leg of the final.

Yuichiro Nagai's clinical first half strike calmed the nerves of the more than 60,000 fans inside the stadium, and when Yuki Abe struck with twenty minutes remaining, the capacity crowd of 65,000 rose as one to celebrate the first ever victory by a Japanese team in the AFC Champions League.

Jubiliant Urawa fans claimed outside the ground that the Saitama club's win vindicated their belief that the Reds were the most important team in the history of football.

"I'm just so happy that my local team could prove to the world that we are the best!" screamed one fan.

"It took me four hours to travel up on the local train from Hamamatsu, but it was worth it!"

Another claimed that the size of the crowd proved that football was truly on the map in Japan.

"We are the only team in this city," said the fan.

"The fact that 70,000 fans turned out for this match just proves that there's a market for football in this country. I used to be a fan of the Yomiuri Giants, but now they're boring... and named after a newspaper!"

Urawa officials have confirmed that they now plan to build a stadium on the moon.

One official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, claimed that after winning the Club World Cup next month, the next step was domination of the galaxy.

"We had over 75,000 fans turn out for the home leg of the Champions League final," said the official."

"It's only natural that we use the moon as the base for our intergalactic missions."

Urawa could face Sepahan again at the FIFA Club World Cup, before going on to face European minnows AC Milan in the semi-finals of that competition.

"Playing Milan will be boring," said one fan on the trip back to his home town of Mito.

"I just can't wait to see Urawa win the Miss Universe competition next year."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway, if that doesn't make it on to the wires, you can always read a much better report here.