By: Mohamed Sabe Five-time African champions Ahli are out to erase the bad image they displayed when they finished last in the 2005 FIFA Club World Cup, but their mission will remain at risk until they face Auckland City FC in the opening game on December 10th. Auckland City FC coach Allan Jones admitted his team was mainly composed of ‘amateurs', but according to him, this makes them more dangerous. “Our players are all amateur, they train when they finish their day jobs, and they will be playing against fully professional players,” Jones told a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday. “Having said that, these players have courage and they are not afraid of the situation in front of them. In fact, they are looking forward to it.” The CWC is the single most important football incident since the All Whites qualified to the 1982 World Cup in Spain and having to live in the shadow of the more powerful Australian team. But Australia's exit from the Oceania Football Confederation and joining their Asian counterparts has opened the door for New Zealand to step into the spotlight, which is what Auckland City FC did. Auckland City FC's official website described the event as: "The biggest occasion in New Zealand club football history."
Star striker Keryn Jordan The New Zealanders do have something to brag about as they have reached this success just after two years of Auckland City FC has been founded. This is the culmination of two, and in some cases three hard years of work, so they're not going to blow it at the last hurdle," said coach Jones, who guided the team to back-to-back New Zealand Football Championships. Jones is leading Auckland in their Japanese mission on interim basis following the exit of former coach Roger Wilkinson who took over from him earlier this season and club chairman, Ivan Vuksich believes it's a plus for his team to have Jones and his assistant Craig Alexander back on board. "To have a coach of Allan's experience and expertise lead our side to Japan is a major boost for the club," said Vuksich. Nevertheless, the English boss knows very well the extent of the job at hand, noting that Egyptian champions remain a force to be reckoned with. “We have immense respect for Al Ahli, who are a club with immense experience of winning football matches and titles,” he said. If Auckland do get past the African champions on Sunday, they will go on to face Internacional of Brazil in the semi-finals on December 14th. If not, they will play in the 5th place playoff.
