No habla Espanol - the NZFC bitch fight

SPANISH TRIO AT THE �DOUBLE� FOR �SUPER CITY� DERBY FINAL

AUCKLAND � Auckland City may turn to its three Spanish signings for inspiration as the club charges toward a fifth ASB Premiership title chance �with the chance of a treble �double� looming.

Manel Exposito, Angel Berlanga and Albert Reira all signed for the Auckland City club this season and each has added unique value as the club goes in search of trophies. Former Barcelona striker Exposito made his first team debut for the Catalan club alongside FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi in a friendly match with FC Porto in 2003. Reira lists his most difficult opponent as Andres Iniesta. Now 30-year-old Exposito finds himself alongside compatriots Berlanga and Reira in this Sunday�s ASB Premiership Grand Final in West Auckland.

�The ASB Premiership is a good league. Rugby and Cricket seem to be more important in New Zealand,� Exposito said, �but the ASB Premiership is growing in standard in importance every year and will keep getting better. One of the principle reasons I came to New Zealand is the chance to play at the FIFA Club World Cup, and to qualify is a big target for us,� he added.

Four goals in six league appearances and a last gasp winner over Magenta in Noumea proved Exposito�s acquisition was a shrewd move by co-coach Ramon Tribulietx.

With Auckland City edging closer to a third �double�, Exposito says pure enjoyment of the new Spanish style has been a major factor in the Kiwitea Street club�s success to date.

�Aaron and Ramon work hard to create a new style at Auckland City but the players enjoy it. I think it�s a different style but easy to play because the boys know that they can have more possession and get more touches on the ball,� he said.

Co-coach Aaron MacFarland says �buy-in� from the players has been vital in realising the brand of football the MacFarland-Tribulietx partnership wants their team to express. Exposito, he says, was an important signing target.

�Manel was hand-picked and encouraged to come over and it worked,� MacFarland said, �All of the players, regardless of whether they are local or from overseas, want to play to play this brand. It�s a satisfying way to play and it shows in the fact that everyone is still at training right up until this week ,pushing for selection, even though we�ve stuck with almost the same starting eleven for the last six weeks.�

But Auckland City won�t have it all their own way with the ASB Premiership minor title holders eager to defend the championship they won convincingly last season.

�Waitakere play a different to us but they try to play good football and they won the league with 36 points, so that was a great achievement,� Exposito said, �They have good players to play their style and they got results with that style but we have our own style that we want to play. I wouldn�t say that one style is better than the other.�

Shifting to the other side of the world to chase his dream of playing at the FIFA Club World Cup was no easy decision but the former Atletico de Madrid frontman says the transition has been made easier with the help of team-mates Riera and Berlanga. The value of the Spanish trio was recognised when Berlanga snared the ASB Premiership Player of the Month award for January.

�I live with Angel and spend a lot of time with Ramon. He�s been here for a long time and knows all about New Zealand, all about the league, all about the club. Auckland City is like a family, they treat me like a son and that makes it easy [to adjust],� he said.

Co-coach MacFarland says the three Spaniards have added enormous value both on and off the pitch.

�They are three very different personalities. Manel loves to show off, play the clown and be the centre of attention while Angel is shy and reserved. Then there�s easy going Albert who gets a bit of stick from the boys for his scruffy look,� he said.

Unlocking Kiwi defences has proved no problem for a player who lists his most difficult opponent as Ricardo Carvalho, the former Chelsea and Portugal defender. But Exposito is modest when he says finding his way to goal in the ASB Premiership has been far from easy.

�New Zealand teams have very hard defences. It�s common to receive a hard tackle. In Spain defences may be more tactical but NZ defences are more physical and that makes it very hard to play for the strikers,� he said.

With injuries and suspension leaving the identity of Waitakere United�s backline for this Sunday�s domestic showpiece unconfirmed, former All White Aaron Scott, currently with the West Auckland side, said his team-mates would have to be aware of a player he said was capable of �pulling something out of the bag.�

Exposito prefers to acknowledge his Auckland City team-mates who have each contributed to the club�s run this season.

�We have a very good team and players who want to play an attractive style of football. I thought that when I come from Spain they would play a different style but everyone is starting to play really good football,� he said.

Tribulietx said Auckland City�s tactical philosophies would not change for the final match of the domestic season.

�We�re not going to change the way we play. That style is what has given us this opportunity to win the ASB Premiership. Playing our best football is the only way we are going to beat a team like Waitakere, � he said.

The ASB Premiership Grand Final between Waitakere United and Auckland City gets underway at Trusts Stadium, Henderson, on Sunday 10 April, 2011, kick-off 2pm. The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sport 2 and Radio Sport with live text updates available atwww.asbpremiership.co.nz.