كتب : وكالات
Gamba Osaka forward Ryuji Bando expressed his delight after beating Pachuca 1-0 in the Club World Cup third/fourth place game on Sunday.
The Asian champions beat Adelaide United, before losing to Manchester United in the semi-final, and Bando is convinced that defeating Pachuca was the best way to come out of the United loss.
"Against United, we were outplayed on every level," said Bando after the Pachuca win.
"We were disappointed that we lost, and we wanted to make up for it by beating Pachuca."
Difficult win
Bando admitted that overcoming the CONCACAF champions to win the competition's third place was not an easy mission.
"I'm so glad we won because it was a very difficult game," he said.
"Pachuca control the ball very well, and no matter how much pressure we put on them they always found a way to escape.
"But we were able to grab an opportunity and score, especially that their defense is not very organized."
CWC benefits
The 29-year-old, who dished out a superb assist for his side's winner, added that Gamba will come out of the World Cup more experienced than before.
"We learned a lot from playing against different football schools. When we played Adelaide we found that they were very fit till the last minute, which taught us that we have to work on our fitness," he added.
"Now we want to win the AFC Champions League next year so we can play at this prestigious tournament again."