My memories with Al Hilal are beautiful, but they are from the past… and facing a great challenge

Sharjah’s Portuguese coach Jose Moraes confirmed that his team will face, tomorrow, Monday, a strong competitor represented by Al Hilal Saudi Arabia, in the sixth round of the AFC Champions League for Elite Clubs, noting that Al Hilal is accustomed to achieving victories in most of its Asian participations in recent years.

Moraes described the confrontation as a “beautiful challenge,” stressing that it brings back beautiful memories of him with Al Hilal and its players when he previously supervised its training, but it has become a thing of the past, and the focus is now focused on the present and the next match.

The Sharjah coach said, during the introductory press conference held today, Sunday, at the Sharjah Club:
“I expect a strong and good match from both teams, and we seek to increase the chances of Sharjah qualifying for the round of 16, and to provide a performance worthy of the club’s name.”

Moraes pointed out that Sharjah has witnessed remarkable development in recent years, and includes a distinguished group of players capable of providing strong levels in such confrontations.

The Sharjah coach considered that there is no advantage for any team before the start of the match, stressing at the same time that facing a team the size of Al Hilal always requires the highest levels of preparedness, saying: “When you face Al Hilal, you always expect the best.”

Regarding the absences in Al Hilal’s ranks, Moraes explained that the absence of some players does not make a big difference, given that the Saudi team has a group of elements capable of making up for it.
He added: “Sharjah also suffers from absences such as Luan Pereira and Al-Hassan Saleh, but that does not mean that our chances are less. Teams are not affected by individual absences as much as they are affected by collective performance.”