Al sadd’s players taking part in a training session on the eve of their AFC Champions League quarter-finals second leg match against Iran’s Esteghlal which will be played at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha today.
DOHA: Al Sadd coach Jesualdo Ferreira has urged his players to remain ‘focused’ for the entire duration of the AFC Champions League (ACL) quarter-finals leg against Iranian outfit Esteghlal today.
Former champions Al Sadd, 3-1 winners of the first leg in Tehran two weeks ago, play host to the Iranian giants at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium for the return match. A win today will seal Al Sadd’s spot in the semi-finals of the region’s premier football championship.
“I have asked the players to focus at all times in the match,” Ferreira said during a pre-match press conference yesterday. “The dream is to reach the semi-finals.
“A similar focus gave us an early goal against Esteghlal in the first leg (at Azadi Stadium). That was great motivation to do well in the entire match,” the seasoned Portuguese coach added.
“We went on to play great football and win by three goals. I have spoken to my players about not making mistakes.
“In fact we must exploit mistakes by our opponents,” he said.
Al Sadd coach said: “We know the strength of our opponents and we know what awaits us and most importantly I am confident we will not make too many mistakes. I trust the players to win the match.”
The Al Sadd coach had a piece of advice for the club fans.
“I address all Qatari football fans to come and support Al Sadd. All the fans will be representing Qatar football. If we qualify for the semi-finals, it will be the third time in the history of the club. I know the fans will be behind us,” he added.
When asked about a possible draw, he said: “We will not play for a draw. We will choose to fight and control the match. That is the best way to win a match of this kind. A win can give us a ticket to the semi-finals,” he said.
“This match against the Iranian side is very important for us. We will start the game with a score of 0 -0 scoreline. We will not think about the first leg. We have forgotten about it completely. We will play as if we have no points yet,” he said.
Al Sadd captain and key striker Hassan Al Haydos said ‘home advantage’ remains with Al Sadd, the winners of the 2011 AFC Champions League.
“We have the home advantage. We will be playing in front of our own fans,” Al Haydos said yesterday.
“We will try to provide our best to repeat the win we got in the first leg,” he added.
“A win (today) will confirm our berth in the semi-finals,” Al Haydos said.
“They (Esteghlal) have come here four days in advance. They have this ‘nothing to lose mentality’. They will enter the game with all systems go. We must be fully prepared for that kind of attitude and we must play according to our brand of football. That’s the way to deal with this kind of a high profile game,” he added.
The game will kick off at 7:00pm.
