2008 Pan-Pacific Championship

The 2008 Pan-Pacific Championship is the inaugural edition of the Pan-Pacific Championship association football competition which took place on February 20 and February 23 in Honolulu, Hawaii, featuring teams from Japan's J. League, United States Major League Soccer (MLS) and the A-League of Australia and New Zealand.

2008 Pan-Pacific Championship
Tournament details
Host countryUnited States
DatesFebruary 20 – February 23
Teams4 (from 2 confederations)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
ChampionsJapan Gamba Osaka (1st title)
Tournament statistics
Matches played4
Goals scored14 (3.5 per match)
Attendance76,430 (19,108 per match)
Top scorer(s)Brazil Baré (5 Goals)
Best player(s)Brazil Baré[1]
2009

For the 2008 tournament, the A-League was not represented by the champion team but instead by the loser of the minor semi-final. This is due to a scheduling conflict with the Grand Final on February 24, which was moved back so as not to interfere with Australia's 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.

The 2008 tournament also features Gamba Osaka of the J. League, which were the 2007 J. League Cup champion, and Major League Soccer representatives Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles Galaxy, the latter reportedly chosen instead of the desired 2007 SuperLiga champion, as Pachuca declined and Galaxy were the Superliga runner-up.[2] The Galaxy's first game was versus Gamba Osaka.[3] while the Dynamo were drawn against Sydney FC.

All matches were played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Bracket

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Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
February 20 – Honolulu (Aloha Stadium)
 
 
  Gamba Osaka1
 
February 23 – Honolulu (Aloha Stadium)
 
  Los Angeles Galaxy0
 
  Gamba Osaka6
 
February 20 – Honolulu (Aloha Stadium)
 
  Houston Dynamo1
 
  Houston Dynamo3
 
 
  Sydney FC0
 
Third place
 
 
February 23 – Honolulu (Aloha Stadium)
 
 
  Los Angeles Galaxy2
 
 
  Sydney FC1

Semifinals

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Gamba Osaka  1–0  Los Angeles Galaxy
Baré   3' (report)[permanent dead link]
Attendance: 15,128
Referee: Baldomero Toledo

Houston Dynamo  3–0  Sydney FC
De Rosario   28'
Holden   29'
Wondolowski   43'
(report)
Attendance: 15,128
Referee: Alex Prus

Third-place match

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Los Angeles Galaxy  2–1  Sydney FC
Allen   3'
Tudela   45'
(report) Renaud   42'
Attendance: 23,087
Referee: Brian Hall

Final

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Gamba Osaka  6–1  Houston Dynamo
Baré   13', 25', 59', 71'
Lucas   62'
Yamazaki   77'
(report) Clark   10'
Attendance: 23,087
Referee: Kevin Stott
Pan-Pacific Championship
2008 Winners
 
Gamba Osaka
First title

Top scorers

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Rank Player Club Goals
1   Baré   Gamba Osaka 5
2   Ely Allen   Los Angeles Galaxy 1
  Ricardo Clark   Houston Dynamo 1
  Dwayne De Rosario   Houston Dynamo 1
  Stuart Holden   Houston Dynamo 1
  Brendan Renaud   Sydney FC 1
  Lucas Severino   Gamba Osaka 1
  Josh Tudela   Los Angeles Galaxy 1
  Chris Wondolowski   Houston Dynamo 1
  Masato Yamazaki   Gamba Osaka 1

Sponsors

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The following is a list of the official sponsors of the Pan-Pacific Championship 2008.

References

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  1. ^ Pan-Pacific Championship Archived February 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "ON SOCCER: Dynamo ahead of pack in more than one sense". November 29, 2007.
  3. ^ BBC SPORT | Football | Galaxy set for Pan-Pacific test