Keizer: We Respect Pirae and we will take things step by step
Abu Dhabi: Feb. 02, 2022
Marcel Keizer, the coach of Al Jazira team, insisted that his players will show respect to their opponent in the opening game of the FIFA Club World Cup, and they will enjoy every moment from the global tournament, starting from tomorrow’s game against AS Pirae from Tahiti.
“We are looking forward to enjoy the time we will spend competing in the FIFA Club World Cup, starting from the first game tomorrow at our stadium against AS Pirae from Tahiti,” said the Dutch coach in the pre-game press conference. “We watched some recorded matches for Pirae and discussed their performance during our video meetings with the players, and now we have a very good idea about their strengths. We will show them the respect they deserve, and we will fight against them to get the result we want, which is the qualification to the next round. We only think about tomorrow’s game, nothing else, and we will take it step by step and so how things will go for us”.
“Preparations went very well, and we received a very good new yesterday when Ali Mabkhout and Khalifa Al Hammadi joined the training session with group and showed that they will be ready to face Pirae. We will assess the situation with the national team players, especially those who played against Syria and Iran, and then we will take decisions about our lineup for the match tomorrow, but anyway, we will play with our strongest squad”.
“Most of the players who featured in this tournament in 2017 are still with us. The team played very well and stood strong against Real Madrid in the semifinals, and it was a very huge experience for them. We want to go as far as we can go in this year, but we will think only about Pirae for now, and if we qualify we will move our focus to the next opponent”.
“I believe a lot of fans will come to the stadium, the LOC did an amazing job in the stadiums and the facilities, and the top teams from all around the world will compete for the title here in Abu Dhabi, and there are three Arab teams participating this year. All these reasons will attract the fans and people to come and enjoy the games from inside the stadiums, and this will make the atmosphere very nice”.
“This tournament is special for all the Brazilians,” said Victor Sa in the second part of the press conference. “Teams are fighting to win Copa Libertadores to qualify to the Club World Cup and compete against other giants from all around the world. I feel positive and motivated and my teams also, but we are keeping our feet on the ground, and our eyes on the mission against AS Pirae. Pirae will also fight to make an impact and create history, and we respect this of course”.
