Ferreira: Al-Sadd look to win against Al-Ahli, I’m have confidence in the players

Al-Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira has stressed on the need to defeat Al-Ahli in a game which he described as “not easy”. The two teams face off in the QNB Stars League Round 7 game at the Grand Hamad Stadium on Thursday.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Ferreira said: “Al Sadd are looking to win after losing the last game against Al-Rayyan. Al-Ahli are trying to improve its situation and climb up from the lower positions. The will not be easy and we will need to work hard to get the three points.”

“Since the beginning of this season, we haven’t played with our full team due to suspensions and injuries which have affected the team. We are relying on the U23 players and the number of these players will increase in the match against Al-Ahli. I have full confidence in all the players.”

He added: “We need to find the right solutions to make up for the absence of prominent players in the team. I am confident in the abilities of all the players, regardless of their age and experience. I have a long list of U23 players who are capable of compensating for the missing players.”

Ferreira also said: “Al-Sadd played its last game against Al-Sailiya with 7 U-23 players. I don’t judge players by their ages as much as I judge them by their capabilities.”

“Our goal is to win, which is the same for Al-Ahli. I wish all the best to the referees of the game, as it won’t be easy for them.”

“We haven’t played with our full squad in a significant number of games. We are looking to return all the players to the team during the upcoming league break,” said the coach, while also pointing out the negative effects of repeated league breaks.

The Al-Sadd coach went on to say: “We lost just one match in the last season. This season is different from the last and the campaign is still a long one. We were happy with Al-Duhail’s draw with Al-Gharafa just as they were happy with our loss to Al-Rayyan.”