HONG KONG: Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus expressed confidence in his players’ ability to lift the Saudi Super Cup when they face Al-Ahli in Saturday’s final in Hong Kong, despite the absence of star forward Sadio Mane.
“On Saturday, Saudi football will be exposed to the whole world, we are expecting to see two excellent and exciting teams, which is great for the game in the country,” Jesus said at a pre-match press conference on Friday.
“It’s a 50/50 match, but we want to win and return to Riyadh with the trophy.”
Spanish defender Inigo Martinez, who joined Al-Nassr from Barcelona this summer, said the team’s battling 2-1 semifinal victory over Al-Ittihad with 10 men had shown “a high level of fraternity.”
A La Liga champion last season, the center-back added: “I am really pleased and honored to have the chance to contest a final in just my second match for Al-Nassr. Our mission is to counter the aggression of our rivals; it will be difficult but we own the tools to win. Our team is ready; we’ll be united and adopt the same spirit as on Tuesday.”
On the opposite bench, Al-Ahli coach Matthias Jaissle said his side were fully focused on the small details that could decide the final.
“(Saturday’s) result cannot be predicted, but we must work on the small details in order to achieve our goal from the match, which is victory,” he said.
Acknowledging Al-Nassr’s heavy investment in recent seasons, Jaissle added: “They have made huge signings; you can just be realistic with that. They did an amazing job with a big budget. Therefore, it will be a huge challenge tomorrow.”
Al-Ahli striker Ivan Toney said preparations for the match had been intense.
“The preparations were a bit crazy,” he admitted. “We will have a tough match against an opponent with distinguished players, especially in defense, but we will fight for victory. My teammates and I are fully prepared for this encounter.”
This year’s Saudi Super Cup is the first to be staged in East Asia. The tournament opened in Hong Kong on Tuesday, when Al-Nassr booked their place in the final with a hard-fought win over Al-Ittihad. Al-Ahli joined them with a commanding 5-1 victory against Al-Qadsiah.
