Al-Hilal is looking forward to retaining the title and raising its record tally to five titles, but first it must overtake Al-Duhail at Al-Thumama World Cup Stadium.
The winner qualifies to meet the representative of the East, Urawa Red Diamonds, Japan, back at home on April 29 and back at Urawa on May 6.
And if it retains the title, Al-Hilal will become the second Saudi team to achieve this achievement following Al-Ittihad in 2004 and 2005, noting that it won the title in 1991, 2000, 2019 and 2021.
The AFC will complete last year’s edition of the Champions League 2022 during the current year, in its efforts to overturn the scheduling of club tournaments to comply with the European calendar.
After the start of the elimination rounds for the West region at the beginning of the week with the assembly system in Qatar, Al-Hilal defeated the Emirati youth Al-Ahly 3-1, then Foolad Khostan of Iran 1-0.
And following scoring the winning goal for “Zaeem” in the 87th minute once morest Foolad Al-Irani, Malian striker Moussa Mariga said, “We kept our cohesion and did not allow them to score, and in the end we managed to win. The goal I scored came due to the team’s effort to build from behind.”
The best player in the semi-finals continued, “We must work to recover and prepare well for the next match before facing Al Duhail, as we suffer from some fatigue as a result of our frequent participation.”
Al-Hilal returned from a successful participation in the Club World Cup in Morocco, where it reached the final for the first time in the history of Saudi clubs, and lost to Real Madrid, the European champions, 3-5.
In turn, his Argentine coach Ramon Dias said, “I congratulate the players who are making a very great effort, because they recently finished a strong competition in the Club World Cup, and then they are now in a strong competition in the AFC Champions League, and they are playing hard every three days.”
Regarding the decisive confrontation for the Western Region once morest Al Duhail, the 63-year-old former international striker added, “We know Al Duhail team well, and their coach Hernan Crespo was playing under my supervision, and we have achieved many achievements together. The match once morest them will be interesting and enjoyable for the large fans who will watch it, as the two teams possess Good players in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.”
Confrontation between teacher and student
As for Al-Duhail, who aspires to become the second Qatari club to qualify for the final following Al-Sadd, which won the title in 2011, its compatriot Al-Rayyan narrowly beat Al-Rayyan 7-6 following a 1-1 draw, then Al-Shabab Al-Saudi 2-1 on Thursday.
He is led by his Argentine coach, Hernán Crespo, who began his brilliant career with River Plate under Dias’ supervision in the mid-1990s, and crowned him with the 1996 Libertadores Cup.
A feeling shared by Dias on Saturday, saying, “It’s great that two Argentine coaches reached the semi-finals. I know Crespo well. He has experience and will be a strong challenge.”
Crespo, the former international striker, expressed his happiness at qualifying, “We achieved a historic achievement. We have not previously qualified for the semi-finals. I am proud to participate in this historic success.. Al-Hilal are the champions and have great experience, but I said to my players: ‘If you want to become champions, you must Overcome the heroes +”.
He continued, “But they have a lot of experience. Less than a month ago, they beat Flamengo (the Brazilian in the Club World Cup), and then played a great match once morest Real Madrid (the Spaniard in the final).”
Regarding the exit of the top scorer in the championship, Belgian Edmilson Junior, with an injury, Crespo (47 years) said following the quarter-finals, “He received a blow and we are waiting for the evaluation of the medical team. In any case, our strength lies in team play. If Edmilson does not play, we have substitutes ready.”
In turn, his Kenyan striker Michael Olonga, the best player in the face of the Saudi youth, said, “At the beginning of the match, I had no luck in scoring due to Edmilson’s good cross pass, but in such matches the striker must be patient and keep trying.”
“The coach asked me at half-time to continue doing my part, to try to take advantage of the spaces and move well, and I managed to score two goals in the end,” he added.
And he added, “Every player wants to play strong matches once morest opponents at the highest level, and we at Al Duhail rely on team play, as the support of my colleagues is what makes me effective on the field.”
The seventh match will be between Al-Duhail and Al-Hilal in the AFC Champions League. Al-Duhail won the first match, and Al-Hilal won twice once morest three draws, noting that Al-Hilal excelled in the quarter-finals of the 2015 edition (4-1 and 2-2).
