Al-Gharafa’s Portuguese coach, Pedro Martinez, confirmed the difficulty of his team’s mission tomorrow, Monday, against its guest, Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia, in the match hosted by Thani Bin Jassim Stadium in the fourth round of the first stage of the AFC Champions League for Elite Football.
Martinez said, during the press conference preceding the confrontation: “It will be a match of great importance against a competitor who has tremendous experience in continental championships. We will go into the confrontation in our usual style, and we realize that we will face a very difficult task.”
He added: “We are happy to have gained great confidence after climbing to the top of the standings in the Qatari Football League, but there is a difference between the local and Asian championships, and our goal is to achieve positive results in the continental championship and be able to advance to the next round.”
Martinez pointed out that the participation of the Algerian duo, Yacine Brahimi, and the Spanish striker, Joselu, is still uncertain, pointing out that knowing the extent of their readiness to participate in the match will be determined before the match.
He said: “We know the value of the Al Hilal team and its strength through providing collective performance, and our focus is on our own style.”
For his part, South Korean Jang Hyun-soo, Al-Gharafa’s defender, expressed his happiness at playing tomorrow’s match against his former team Al-Hilal, adding: If we appear in a distinctive image, we have the ability to achieve a satisfactory result.
He added: “Al Hilal is one of the best teams in Asia and I am very motivated to face it. We want to play a great match and we hope to achieve that and we are lucky to achieve victory.”
Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia leads the Gharb region club standings with 9 points from three matches, compared to 7 points each for Al-Ahly Saudi Arabia, Shabab Al-Ahly and Al-Wahda from the Emirates, 5 for Iranian Tractor, 4 for Sharjah from the Emirates, 3 each for Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia and Al-Gharafa, 2 points for Al-Sadd, and a point each for Al-Duhail and Al-Shorta of Iraq, while Nasaf of Uzbekistan is still devoid of points.