Lamouchi all set for playing Al Ain
In his pre-match press conference, Sabri Lamouchi, El Jaish’s French coach, took pride in his men’s performance that led them to the AFC golden square.
“We’re about to play a challenging and decisive match that may make everyone’s dream come true at the end. I know it’s not easy to encounter a powerful and experienced team like Al Ain, but we have to play our best,” he said.
Reflecting on his rivals’ expected plan, Lamouchi sounded confident to encounter Al Ain whether they would adopt an offensive or defensive plan; “In all case, I’m not afraid of them; I have prepared a good strategy to face them though I know that our first-leg loss and Al Ain’s excellent players and experience will pose a serious threat to us,” he added.
He agreed that scoring an early goal would give them a privilege and pave their way to the final but without forgetting that their rivals have sufficient experience and skills to find the right solutions; “Even if we couldn’t score early, we shouldn’t lose patience and nerve; we have to persist until we achieve our desired outcome,” he explained.
Commenting on how Al Ain’s playmaker, Omar Abdurrahman, was able to move freely in the first-leg, Lamouchi said that Amouri is a talented player who can always find a way out to escape being controlled by one, two even three players; “Honestly speaking, I’m impressed with this excellent player who can create happiness and entertain the football fans thanks to his high capabilities,” he commended.
He admitted that Al Ain can always find more than one solution on the pitch and boasts other players who can pose serious threat to his team such as Caio, Asprilla and Dyanfres in addition to Amouri. “Therefore, we have to remain very vigilant and present-minded in order to ward off those threats from the start till the end of the match,” he warned.
“Furthermore, if we have to guarantee qualification, we need to outmatch our rivals by 2 or 3 goals and keep a clean sheet. We believe in our opportunity and we’ll fight for our objective till the end.” He concluded.
