Fifa Club World Cup: Mosimane on why Al Ahly are not afraid of Palmeiras
After guiding Al Ahly into the Fifa Club World Cup semi-finals, head coach Pitso Mosimane has explained why they are not afraid of Palmeiras.
The African champions will face the Brazilian side in a last-four contest after beating CF Monterrey of Mexico 1-0 in the opening clash. Despite showering praise on their semi-final opponents, the South African coach believes they can get a good result against the Brazilian outfit.
"Last year’s match against Palmeiras was very difficult and the game went into a penalty shootout, and maybe it will happen again. Their coach is great on the tactical level, but we have a team that is also organized and we know how to defend," Mosimane said, as per KingFut.
"I think it will be a tactical match and they will not say that we will win, everything is possible, and they will try to beat us, but we will prepare seriously. They have won the Libertadores twice in a row, and they are a big team, but we are not afraid of anyone."
The former Mamelodi Sundowns head coach pegged his hope of success on the support they would get from their passionate fans.
"We have big fans who support us, which helps us in a lot of games, and Bayern Munich knew the impact of these people, and they said that last year, but they support me, especially since I am the first African coach to coach Al Ahly who depended on European and South American coaches," he added.
"We want to give everything we have in that tournament and we want to be modest in our preparation because we want to prepare well and compete for the title."
On the Monterrey win, Mposimane praised his players despite operating without their Afcon stars.
"This is football. Everything happens on the pitch, and apart from the circumstances and excuses, we have to win," he concluded.
"We could have scored two goals in the second half, but we played in difficult conditions and we didn’t think about where the players were playing and their different positions, but we were able to use them in a good way."
Al Ahly will play Palmeiras on February 8.