Swiss coach Marcel Koller, leading Egypt’s Al Ahly, expressed unwavering confidence ahead of his team’s clash with Sudan’s Al Hilal on Tuesday in the CAF Champions League quarter-finals second leg.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday at the Mauritanian Football Association’s headquarters, Koller emphasized that his squad is well-prepared for the artificial turf match in Mauritania, a surface familiar to them from African competitions. Last week’s first leg in Cairo saw Al Ahly secure a narrow 1-0 win, setting the stage for a tense rematch.
Koller praised Al Hilal’s strength, noting, “Al Hilal is a strong team and includes players of an outstanding level, and at the same time, Al Ahly will strive with all its might to achieve victory, as happened in the first leg that was held in Cairo.”
He dismissed concerns about Mauritania’s weather, calling it pleasanter than Cairo’s and irrelevant to his experienced squad. “Al Ahly players have extensive experience in this regard and have dealt with such situations many times. Our focus is more on performance and we do not occupy our minds with any external matters,” he said.
Reflecting on the first leg, he added, “In the first leg against Al Hilal in Cairo, we controlled the game and wasted many opportunities and only scored one goal. This is football, while our opponent had only one chance throughout the 90 minutes. We hope that the return match will be the same and that we can maintain the victory and advance from this round.”
For Koller, the goal is clear push past the quarter-finals toward the semi-finals and beyond.
