Hori seeking AFC Champions League trophy to cap remarkable journey
Riyadh: When former Urawa Red Diamonds midfielder Takafumi Hori took over the club as head coach in July, he did not envisage that five months later, he would be addressing gathered media in Riyadh ahead of the 2017 AFC Champions League final, the 50-year-old admitted.
Nevertheless, Hori believes his side have done all the right things to deserve their spot in the final showpiece of Asia’s biggest club competition.
“We are honoured to be here in Saudi Arabia facing Al Hilal in the final. When I first joined the team, I did not expect to come this far, but of course, no one can predict the future,” said the coach.
“We prepared well and worked hard throughout this competition and naturally, we reached the final."
Hori has prepared his side for a physical game ahead of Saturday’s AFC Champions League final first leg, but is aware of Al Hilal’s tactical organisation.
Urawa Red Diamonds made a 9,600 kilometres trip to Riyadh where they face an unbeaten Al Hilal side who are chasing a seventh continental trophy in their history.
Urawa Red Diamonds celebrate after defeating Shanghai SIPG in the semi-finals.
“We know Saudi teams to be physically strong, but in the case of Al Hilal, they are organised as well. I am expecting a difficult match, but we have faith that we can get a result and we will use all our strength.
“Al Hilal are a great club; winning six Asian titles is surely a great achievement, but we want to put a great effort to get a good result. More than 200 people have travelled here with us and everyone worked hard."
Urawa lead the 2017 AFC Champions League scoring charts with 28 goals, five more than Saturday's opponent, and coach Hori believes their attack can help them to glory.
“We are a strong team in attack and we will play the second leg at home. Whether we go for attack from the start tomorrow and try to get an early goal, is not what we always do. It depends on the match."
Defender Wataru Endo echoed his manager’s words in praising Al Hilal’s tactical organisation, and expressed his relief about the weather in Riyadh.
“Al Hilal have a number of international players and are an organised team. The most important thing for us now is to overcome this first leg by getting a result that enables us to finish the job at home in the second leg.
“I was expecting Riyadh to be a cold place, but the weather is actually nice. It is warm enough for us to play comfortably. We are honoured to be in the AFC Champions League final and we are ready to play.”
Photos: Lagardère Sports, AFP
Source: the-afc.com
Comments
This article has 0 comment(s) , give your comment