SOCCER/ 2008 Asian Champions League: Antlers' boss says schedule big mess and he wants answers

KASHIMA, Ibaraki Prefecture--Having steered the Kashima Antlers to three straight wins and a plus 15 goal differential so far in the 2008 Asian Champions League, you'd think manager Oswaldo Oliveira would be a fairly happy chap heading into tonight's Group F encounter with Beijing Guoan.

Think again.

The normally placid Brazilian was clearly rankled ahead of his team's trip to Beijing for the Group F encounter, unable to conceal his frustration over everything from "unfair" scheduling to the inevitability of unwelcome "surprises" whenever Kashima plays on the road.

"We don't have as much time as our opponents to prepare (for tonight's match) and I'd like to know why," Oswaldo said. "Beijing has had 10 days rest, during which time we had to play both the (ACL champion Urawa) Reds and Gamba Osaka. Why is there such a big difference between the J.League and the Chinese league?"

The Antlers can virtually wrap up the group with a victory over their closest rival tonight. Kashima tops the table with nine points, three more than Beijing, which lost 1-0 to the Antlers in their first meeting at Kashima Stadium two weeks ago.

But because only the top team in each of the seven groups advances to the knockout stage and head-to-head statistics count ahead of goal differential, Oswaldo knows a loss by more than a goal to Beijing would give Guoan the advantage should the teams finish tied on points.

"Yes, you could say we are almost through even if we lose, but only if we lose by one goal. The head to heads are so important that we can't afford to lose by any more than that," Oswaldo said. "But we can't rely on that. We have to go there looking to win and to play as we usually do.

We will play normal, attacking football. I will not change a thing."

The Antlers opened their ACL campaign with a 9-1 slaughtering of Thailand's Krung Thai Bank and followed that up with a 6-0 dismantling of Vietnam's Nam Dinh at home.

Oliveira apparently doesn't hold fond memories of his trip to Bangkok, however, despite the way his team flattened the Thai league runners-up.

"In Thailand we had to deal with the weather and then we discovered we had to play on artificial turf. I am expecting--I'm waiting for--more surprises. I wonder what surprises we are going to face when we get to China," Oswaldo said.

Oswaldo will be relieved to know that Beijing plays on real grass at Feng Tai Stadium, although as the Brazilian noted, the home team will be extremely well rested having last played on April 14 against the Chinese Super League's last-place team, Wuhan Guanggu.

"The distribution of games is unbelievable. It is not fair," Oswaldo said, adding that he had discussed the matter with Kashima officials, who he hoped would take the issue up with the Asian Football Confederation.

Beijing began its quest for the ACL crown with a 3-1 win over Nam Dinh in Round 1 before easing past Krung Thai 4-2.

Gamba Osaka will also be in action tonight when they host Melbourne Victory at Banpaku Stadium.

Gamba lead Group G with seven points, three more than Thailand's Chonburi FC, who square off against the last-place Chunnam Dragons of South Korea.

The Reds will enter the fray in the quarterfinals of the continental championship, which features the league and cup champions of 14 countries.

The winner earns the right to represent Asia at the annual FIFA Club World Cup in December.(IHT/Asahi: April 23,2008)