In the pre-match press conference held this evening, Al Duhail First Football Team Head Coach, Djamel Belmadi, emphasized his awareness of the importance and difficulty of their opening match versus Foolad Sepahan.
Belmadi commenced by saying: “Of course, it will be a strong match at the start of the season versus Sepahan in a powerful Asian tournament. We have completed our preparations for the game. It is very important for us to have a successful start, and that is what we will strive for.”
He added: “As I mentioned, these matches are always tough. Many experienced clubs participate, including Sepahan. They played in the AFC Champions League last year and are accustomed to playing in Asian tournaments. Of course, we didn’t participate in Asian competitions last season, and we are determined to make a strong comeback in this Asian tournament.”
Belmadi continued: “Leading the team, I can’t say whether the team is ready or not, but I can assure you that we had an excellent preparation period before the start of the season. We have many new players, and this is our first match of the season, so we don’t have any comments on the overall performance level yet. Tomorrow’s match will give us the answers to many questions about what we have accomplished during the previous period. We will rely heavily on our experienced players, and we must focus well to win and qualify for the next stage.”
Belmadi concluded his statements by saying: “We haven’t started playing official matches yet, and we have to wait a while to assess the team level and quality and evaluate the players’ performances. The most important thing for me is the players’ good conduct and performance on the field. I have a good feeling about the team performance. As Karim mentioned, this is a major tournament, and we missed participating in it last season, and we aim to win it. But the league title is also important for us, and we want to win that as well. We must perform well in both competitions. We have a big challenge in tomorrow’s game and this season. We seek to continue our journey in this tournament, in addition to winning the local competitions to participate again in next season AFC Champions League Elite as well.”
