Tokyo-(FilGoal.com) Ahli coach Manuel Jose said that his team and Pachuca know each other like an open book, so there would be no surprises in Saturday's FIFA Club World Cup match. “What surprises?” Jose asked reporters. “The only surprise would be that we buy Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester and field him against Pachuca,” he added sarcastically. “Ahli and Pachuca know each other very well, we even play with the same formation of 3-5-2,” the Portuguese coach a pre-match press conference at Tokyo National Stadium on Friday. Jose said that his team is ready for Saturday's Club World Cup quarter-final match and that he considers it “a final game”. “It is like a final, because the loser will go home early while the winner will go on to play in the later stages. “This game is important and we are ready for it, and I'm sure that if we win it we can ride the wave and continue to give good performances,” he added. The Ahli manager insisted there was no pressure on his side for the first game, but reminded of the big gap between African football, and that of Europe and South America. “We are always under pressure, we have been for the past four years,” the former Benfica manager said. “But it's not a bad kind of pressure, because we are a team used to winning.”
Ahli are going for the win “We could face pressure in the next stages when we face the big teams, who themselves are under no pressure at all.” Jose was asked about his team's chances and the fact that pundits expect Ahli to cause an upset and win the tournament. “I'm very happy to hear this, because this means people know that we are good and trust that we can perform very well.” The 62-year-old boss sounded his disgruntlement with his Mexican opponents, insisting that they sent “three spies” to watch his team training in Japan. “It's not right, we couldn't do that, but they did,” he said. Jose also noted that it would be hard to compare Pachuca with compatriots Club America, who the Red Devils disposed of in the 2006 edition to win the bronze medal. “Yes they are both from Mexico but their style of play is completely different,” he said. “I have the utmost respect for Club America, but I believe Pachuca have some excellent players, and as I said, we play with the same formation so it's a totally different game.” Jose concluded by saying that his team will play attacking football against Pachuca. “We want to win, and to win, we have to attack, and that is what we will do. Of course we have to be careful, but I can assure you we will not play a defensive game. “Anyways there is another team involved so we will see how things unfold during the match and strategize from there, but I expect it to be an open game and the team that will score more will win.”
