Saudi Arabia's «Al-Nassr» arrived in Ashgabat from Riyadh without its star players − Cristiano Ronaldo, João Félix, Sadio Mané, Kingsley Coman, Iñigo Martínez and Marcelo Brozovic for the first match of the AFC Champions League 1/8 finals against Turkmenistan's «Arkadag». This was announced at the pre-match press conference, which the head coach of the team, Jorge Jesus, attended in the company of goalkeeper Bento Mateus Krepski.
Entering the spacious conference hall at the «Olympic» stadium, the 71-year-old eminent Portuguese specialist greeted journalists in Turkmen: «Salam aleikum!». However, he then stated:
«I do not speak English. I will speak Portuguese».
«We came to Turkmenistan to represent Saudi football. On the way from the airport, we saw beautiful Ashgabat. We have a game ahead of us that will be difficult for us, but we are ready for it», − said Jorge Jesus.
When asked about the reasons for the failure of leading players of «Al-Nassr» to arrive in Ashgabat for the AFC-2 Champions League playoff match, the head coach of the team stated:
«This is far from the first time that Cristiano Ronaldo has not participated in a match taking place outside Saudi Arabia. We must save his strength, as well as the strength of other star players, for the more important matches of our championship».
The next match of «Al-Nassr» in the Saudi Arabian Championship will take place on the 14th of February against «Al-Fateh». It will take place before the return match against «Arkadag» on the 18th of February in Riyadh.
At the pre-match press conference, a «GA» correspondent also posed a question to the head coach of the visiting team, asking the renowned specialist: how does he assess the rapid growth of the «Arkadag» team, which in its three years of existence has reached the AFC-2 Champions League playoffs?
«We know that FC «Arkadag» was created relatively recently; it is a very young club. We studied the playing style of his players, how they defend, how they attack, some other nuances, and we will try to properly prepare for the match. It will be a very tough game for us», − replied Jorge Jesus.
«Al-Nassr» goalkeeper Bento Mateus Krepski also shared his expectations for the upcoming match with «Arkadag» with journalists.
«Every player prepares for the game in their own way and wants to win the match. And, including me. We had time to study game of our opponent. We expect the match to be challenging. But we are ready for it», − the goalkeeper of Saudi club noted.
After resting Cristiano Ronaldo and other key players, «Al Nassr» arrived in Ashgabat with its reserves late in the evening and decided not to hold a pre-match training session at the Olympic stadium, where the game would take place. Can we conclude from this that the Saudi club is clearly underestimating the strength of the Turkmenistan champion? The head coach of «Al-Nassr» did not answer this question at the press conference.
