Ferreira: Important game, Al-Sadd has to be in Champions League

Ferreira: Important game, Al-Sadd has to be in Champions League
08 Feb 2016
​Ahead of the 2016 AFC Champions League playoff game against Al-Jazira, Al-Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira spoke to the media and described the game as “crucial” and “difficult”.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Ferreira said: “It is an important match which will be tough and strongly fought. Al-Sadd is always used to being at the Champions League and everyone knows its history in the tournament. And so we need to work hard and give our best in order to win and reach the group stages.”

The Portuguese coach went on to say: “The Emirati team (Al-Jazira) has the advantage with the match taking place at its home. I was hoping for this playoff to be a two-legged home and away tie where both teams will have equal chances.” Ferreira added that the match will be one for winning and not for points and that his team had the ability to win.

Asked about the absentees in the Al-Sadd squad, Ferreira said: “It is not important now to talk about the absentees and I have full confidence in the available players especially with the signing of Pedro and Pouraliganji. We will work hard to show our true abilities despite our recent negative results. The players know how much responsibility is on their shoulders to win today.”

As for Al-Jazira, the Al-Sadd coach said: “I know the Al-Jazira coach Henk Ten Cate well and he is a good coach. I know some of their stars. We at Al-Sadd, we respect them a lot.”

And finally, as for the presence of Spanish legend Xavi Hernandez in the Al-Sadd team, Ferreira said: “After 42 years of being in the world of football, I feel proud to coach a player of a high calibre like Xavi for his performances with the team do not show his age and also there is his humility and his effort in training. I will count on him a lot in the match against Al-Jazira on Tuesday.”​