There is absolutely no concession... "The only trophy I couldn't have," coach Al Hilal and Jesús said before the Gwangju match
There is absolutely no concession... "The only trophy I couldn't have," coach Al Hilal and Jesús said before the Gwangju match
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Saudi Arabia's strongest Al Hilal, who will face Gwangju FC, is showing strong motivation for the showdown.
Gwangju, led by head coach Lee Jung-hyo, will face Al Hilal in the quarterfinals of the 2024-2025 AFC Champions League scheduled at 1:30 a.m. on the 26th (Korea time) at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah. Al Hilal, who has built a large-scale power based on enormous finances, is said to be ahead in objective standards. However, coach Lee Jung-hyo is determined to win the championship by beating not only Al Hilal but also all the teams he meets in the competition.
Al-Hilal's will is also quite strong. According to the Saudi Arabian media Ashurak al-Wasat, Portuguese coach Jorge Jesús made no secret of his ambition to win the championship.
"Big clubs like Al Hilal have to challenge every tournament," Jesus told a press conference after the 29th round of the 2024-2025 Saudi Arabian Professional League (a 2-2 draw) at the Riyadh Kingdom Arena early on Tuesday. "We competed in every tournament last year, and won everything except the Asian one. I'm still participating in the league and the AFC Champions League this year, and we'll fight for them." 안전놀이터
"The AFC Champions League is the only trophy I did not win at Al Hilal. It will be a dream for me, for the fans and for the president of the club," he said, adding that he could never yield.
Salem al-Dosari, who is known for Saudi Arabia's national soccer team and Al-Hilal's ace, also expressed his commitment. "The AFC Champions League is a very important competition for Al-Hilal fans. We will make sure to make them happy," said Al-Dosari, who gained worldwide fame for his goal that defeated Argentina during the FIFA World Cup 2022.
In the meantime, there is a local soccer panel that predicted Al Hilal to lose to Gwangju, drawing attention.
According to Middle East media outlet Kura, Abdul Karim al-Assur, who previously served as an al-Hililil director, appeared on a local soccer broadcast program and said, "Al-Hilal is playing in a very miserable way right now. The biggest cause is coach Jesus. I don't think this team will be able to beat Gwangju in the AFC Champions League elite quarterfinals." Al-Hilal said this, analyzing that it is becoming increasingly difficult to win the Saudi Professional League due to the aforementioned draw against Al-Shabaab.