Ferreira: It’ll be difficult to face Persepolis, we are fully focused on winning

Al-Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira expects his side’s upcoming AFC Champions League clash with Persepolis to be an intense affair.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference in Doha on Monday, Ferreira said: “Al-Sadd are fighting on two fronts – one in the domestic league and the other in Asia. This makes our task difficult, especially as the league is tight. We just got a tough win over Al-Arabi in the league and we now another tough side in Persepolis, who are really strong and have defeated Qatari teams. We need to win.”

He went on to say: “Persepolis have capabilities in different areas and will come at us with full strength, but we can benefit from the fact that we’re playing at home. We are looking to win and get a 100% record; a second successive win will get us closer to progressing from the group.”

The Portuguese coach also stated: “We are fully focused, 100%, on this game. It is difficult to know all details about the opponent but we have prepared for them in a suitable manner. We know that they haven’t come to Doha to lose but instead to get a positive result. I expect our clash to be a balanced one.”

As for the possibility of having to change his formation due to missing players, Ferreira said: “I won’t speak about the players who are missing out and I won’t reveal the lineup which will face Persepolis. (But) we are fully prepared for the match and we know how difficult it is.”

He added: “At Al-Sadd, we are looking to win the league title and also to go as far as possible in the AFC Champions League. We know that we are under pressure but we are capable of achieving our goals.”

Ferreira also said: “Amidst the tight schedule of repeated matches, we have worked on rotating players and we have succeeded in this. We got a win in the last ACL game and also won in our last league game. This is a good thing and it pushes us on to progress further. We hope the schedule doesn’t lead to fatigue or injuries.”

Finally, Ferreira was asked about the future of Xavi Hernandez, who is set to retire at the end of the season. The coach replied: “What we are focusing on now is the match and not Xavi’s future. It is too early to talk about this matter and I won’t talk about how the team will look like in the future either. Instead, we are thinking only on winning and progressing further in the AFC Champions League. What is important is that we get the win and continue our journey in the ideal manner that we are aspiring to.”