Rachid Toussi: We Aim to Qualify With All Due Respect to Al Ain’s Aspirations
Moroccan head coach of ES Sétif, Rachid Toussi, expressed his deepest pleasure that his team has been selected to join the Arab Club Champions Cup which brings together the Arab brothers. He said: “On the personal level, I consider playing against Al Ain as part of our kinship relationships that binds me to this lofty sport entity and the UAE as a whole, particularly I am meeting today one of my sons on the sidelines of the pre-match press conference, Rayan Yaslam, who became an international player.”
“We approved Al Ain’s request to relocate the two matches to be held in Croatia because we understand that the team is in the mid of their preseason training camp,” said Rachid. He added: “We cannot say “No” to a request made by Al Ain. Also, I would like to thank Al Ain’s management for generous hospitality and kindness in receiving our mission and providing ES Sétif team with all their requirements.”
“Definitely, we are here today to achieve the best results with all due respect to our opponent. We will do our best to win the match and achieve a result that is consistent with the name and reputation of ES Sétif,” stressed he.
Commenting on the absent players of Al Ain: “I know the Al Ain team very well and the team has a wonderful football academy. This lofty club always provides the national team with the best players and Al Ain club has the best players within its squad. However, the logic of football recognizes only the language of painstaking efforts and this has been proved in the recent edition of the World Cup 2018 where the stars did not serve their teams in the right manner.” He pointed out: “When it comes for me, I concentrate on preparing my team in the right way. We have quality layers in our squad and collective play is one of our weapons. I do hope that my team will perform well in the coming matches and show their genuine skills outside the borders of the Arab World.”
He signed off by stating that his team will miss two important players: Husam Ghasha and Elias Sidhom and that latter is subject to extensive medical treatment to be ready to join the team shortly.
