Al Sadd head coach Felix Sanchez said he has mapped out his strategy after studying Kawasaki Frontale’s recent performances, expressing confidence that his players will rise to the challenge when the two sides meet in the AFC Champions League Elite quarter-finals in Jeddah on Sunday (April 27). The match will kick off at 7:30pm at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium.
Sadd advanced after a fourth place finish in the West League Stage, before being put through a tough test by UAE’s Al Wasl in the last 16, winning the two-leg tie 4-2 on aggregate in.
Sanchez said: “We know it’s going to be a tough game but the players have shown that we can compete in all the 10 games so far. We hope to produce a performance to get a positive result.”
The Spaniard added: “We followed the Kawasaki team in the league in the last weeks. They have a defined way of playing with lots of options. We have to try to manage this situation. We need to be aware of the opposition but we need to focus on producing our best level.”
The Spanish coach highlighted the impact of new signing Claudinho, noting that the Brazilian has quickly adapted to the team and is performing at a high level.
Frontale head coach Shigetoshi Hasebe intends to stay true to his footballing principles against Sadd. Despite coming into the tournament on the back of a five-match winless run domestically, Hasebe has no intention of making drastic changes to the Japanese side.
While acknowledging Al Hilal’s incredible 7-0 win against Gwangju FC in Friday’s opening quarter-final tie, Hasebe does not believe the result can be used as a yardstick for other matches. “The result was what it was but we cannot say too much in general about East teams versus West teams,” said Hasebe. “Every team is different but if that’s the perception then I hope to be able to break that kind of thinking.”
“Al Sadd are a very strong team with an experienced coach and players. We have to keep our attacking football and show that. And we cannot concede goals easily. Our target is of course to win the three games and the title but most important now is to focus on the first one and win that.”
Frontale finished second in the East League Stage with five wins, then had a tricky Round of 16 tie against China’s Shanghai Shenhua, coming back from a 1-0 first leg defeat to triumph 4-0 in the second leg.