Gamba Osaka manager Kenta Hasegawa hopes his players will get a second wind when the defending champions take on Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the first leg of the J. League Championship final on Wednesday at Expo Stadium.
While Hiroshima, which advanced directly to the final after finishing with the most points over two stages, is on nine days' rest, Gamba had to slog through extra time to beat Urawa Reds 3-1 in their playoff in Saitama on Saturday.
"I am sure the players are tired but they are fired up to battle it out in the final," said Hasegawa, whose players have had a punishing season yet reached the Nabisco Cup final, the semifinals of the Asian Champions League and are still involved in the last eight of the Emperor's Cup.