Auckland face African champions ES Setif of Algeria in the quarter-finals at 5am tomorrow after upsetting Moroccan champions Moghreb Tétouan 4-3 on penalties on Thursday.
It was an extraordinary result - an essentially amateur team beating a fully professional side from a respected football nation in front of 35,000 hostile fans. How did they manage that?
Auckland's preparation was thorough, with the team training at least five times a week since pre-season. Coach Ramon Tribulietx spent months studying opponents.
"I need to know exactly what they are going to do ... we need to be perfect," he said before the match. "I need to know them inside out. We only get one shot, so we can't afford to be caught out tactically."
Tribulietx uncovered a pre-season match Tétouan played against Lleida Esportiu, a Spanish Segunda B team north of Barcelona.
"The League in Morocco is very transitional - up and down - and play is very stretched," explained Tribulietx before the game. "It's difficult to predict when we play these guys with our [possession-based] structure what will happen. But the way the Spanish team plays is similar to our structure, so the best reference is that game.
"I [kept] watching that game to remind myself what was possible and not to get dragged down - it was encouraging."
Auckland executed the game plan superbly. They had 48 per cent of possession, rarely looked in trouble defensively and took the pace - and the capacity crowd - out of the game.
"We knew there were going to be periods [without the ball] but we rode it perfectly," said goalkeeper Tamati Williams. "We knew when to slow it down, we knew when to speed things up."
Improbable as last Thursday's victory was - just the fourth in 17 attempts by Oceania teams at the Club World Cup - Auckland will have to go to another level against ES Setif.
The Black Eagles are one of the most storied clubs in Algeria, having won the league six times and Algerian football is currently on a high after their national team's heroics at the last World Cup.
"It would be a serious mistake to underestimate the opponent," said ES Setif coach Kheireddine Madoui. "Tactically and physically they are [an] interesting [team]."
Auckland City spent yesterday in recovery with a light training session, ahead of more detailed preparations today.
"The body will be hurting but it is all about the top three inches", said Auckland midfielder Tim Payne. "If we play as well as we did in the last game anything can happen. We'll need to raise our level again."
The winner tomorrow will play South American champions San Lorenzo of Argentina, while the loser will play off for fifth and sixth place, against Western Sydney Wanderers or Mexican side Cruz Azul.
- By Michael Burgess of the New Zealand Herald
