CAIRO - Al-Ahly coach Manuel José da Silva said that he is proud of his side's performance against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich in Doha on Saturday night, indicating that his team deserved a draw. "We played a good game against one of the best teams in the world," José told reporters after the game, pointing out that defeat was not important as the most important thing was for the lads to play good football, proving themselves and pleasing the fans. Germany's Bayern Munich grabbed a 2-1 win over Egypt's Ahly in the friendly in Qatar, thanks to goals from Croatian Ivica Olic, while Mohamed Barakat scored for the Red Devils. "Although we played a match in the local league just 48 hours before the Bayern clash, we put on well," the Portuguese tactician stressed. The coach of the Cairo-based giants explained that the team weren't worried about the result and simply played the best they could, proud to be starring for a big team like Ahly. "We used a new formation, starting with two strikers playing as wingers, while pushing two midfielders into attack, in order to pile the pressure on the Bayern defence," he explained. The German titans had stunned Al-Sailiya of Qatar 13-0 in a friendly on Thursday night in Doha. Arjen Robben, Mario Gomez and Thomas Müller netted for the Bavarians before half-time, before Ivica Olic hit five, Nils Petersen and Franck Ribéry claimed a brace apiece, and Diego Contento scored another in a one-sided second period. José added that the players played in midfield and only conceded the winning goal in the last minute of the game. "We know that we'll be exhausted when we return home to resume the local league, but clashing with the Bundesliga giants was something we couldn't miss," José said right after the game. As for concerns about the Ahly defence, he explained that many of their defenders are injured, such as Mohamed Naguib, Rami Rabiea and Mohamed Abdel-Fattah, which had a negative effect. Meanwhile, soccer experts have praised the Ahly players and their technical coach for a great performance against Bayern. "The changes made by da Silva, who replaced Abdullah el-Said and Mohamed Naggi 'Geddo' with Mohamed Abou Treika and Brazil's Junior at the beginning of the second half, were good for the team," Taha Ismail, a soccer expert, said. “The Portuguese coach started with a good line-up then made the right changes. The fans must be happy with their team and their performance against one of the best teams in the world. "The team's two wingers, Sayyed Moa'wad and Ahmed Fathi, both did very well, creating chances and also defending well,” commented Ismail, stressing that Moa'wad played a particularly good defensive role. He explained that Ahly caused Bayern lots of problems. "Ahly were well organised and could have beaten the German titans, if the players had more confidence in themselves," explained Ismail, pointing out that Bayern played an entertaining game. Zakaria Nassef, another soccer expert, stressed that the coach was wise to bring on Soliman, as one player can make all the difference. "The players were very determined," said Nassef, adding that the Red Devils coach really read the game and the Bayern Munich tactics. "José succeeded in warding off most of the danger posed by Bayern's strikers," explained Nassef, who praised the players and da Silva for playing a great game. Ismail and Nassef said that Ahmed el-Sayyed and Sherif Ekrami were to blame for Bayern's two goals. Magdi Abdel Ghani agreed, stressing that José knows how to get the best out of the players and put them at their ease. Abdel-Aziz Abdel-Shafei, a former Ahly coach and another soccer expert, agreed that the team put on a very good show, stressing the key role of Mohamed Barakat. "Barakat is very talented, so fast and skilful," Abdel-Shafei said, describing him as “able to control the ball and change the result anytime”. Ahly football director Sayyed Abdel-Hafez was equally delighted with the team's showing in Doha, but warned the players to concentrate on their Premier League match against Military Production on Wednesday. "If they played more international friendlies, the players would get even better, learning from different European schools," Abdel-Hafez said after the game. The Red Devils returns home today to prepare for the Military Production clash in the 13th week of the Egyptian Premier League. Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said that the game was good for his team, describing the Red Devils as a big, talented outfit. "They played an organised game and surprised us," said Heynckes, describing Ahly as more like a European Champions League side.
