JEDDAH :Al-Nassr coach Stefano Pioli declared his side injury-free ahead of Wednesday’s Asian Champions League Elite semi-final against Kawasaki Frontale in Jeddah as the Saudi Pro League side look to reach the final for the first time in almost 30 years.
The Riyadh-based outfit last made the decider in 1995, but a brace from Jhon Duran and strikes by Sadio Mane and Cristiano Ronaldo sealed a 4-1 win over Yokohama F Marinos on Saturday to move the Saudi side to the cusp of a first title.
“We are ready for the match, but in training we will decide which group is going to play,” Pioli said. “The team is ready to play the game with great spirit, high performance.”
Al-Nassr are one of three Saudi Pro League sides in the semi-finals, the first time a single nation has dominated the latter stages of the competition to such an extent.
The huge injection of cash into the country’s leading clubs by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in 2023 which prompted the signing of numerous high-profile players from around the world is having a major impact on this year’s competition.
Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli have also advanced to the last four and will meet on Tuesday.
Japan’s Kawasaki are the only team from their half of the confederation left in the competition after their win over Qatar’s Al-Sadd, and the J-League side have been further disadvantaged by having one day less to recover than Al-Nassr.
Frontale needed extra-time to defeat Felix Sanchez’s side and coach Shigetoshi Hasebe admitted he was concerned about his players’ lack of freshness ahead of the Al-Nassr clash.
“All the players are tired because they played for 120 minutes, which is very difficult for us,” he said. “But we’ll be playing in a different stadium, so we can have a new feeling and I can imagine the players will play very well tomorrow night.”
Kawasaki midfielder Kento Tachibanada stressed it was important not to obsess over the reputations of their opponents.
“The key point is not to be afraid of the famous players and their big names,” he said. “Many people think the teams from Saudi will win, but I want to break that type of image tomorrow night.”
