Nabi: our chances are equal

Al-Hilal coach Nasredddine Nabi has been talking to Cafonline.com ahead of their Orange CAF Champions League clash with Stade Malien of mali. The Omdurman-based club travels to Bamako this weekend as guest of the Malian champions in the 1/16th round first leg clash. Below are details of the interview with the Tunisia-born trainer;

Cafonline.com: How have you been preparing for your first game in this year’s continental club championship?
Nasredddine Nabi: Our preparations have not been enough. We’ve had only six weeks of training. I was thinking of a training camp in Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire) but our schedule in the league affected the plan. Our opponents (Stade Malien) appear better prepared having played in the preliminaries.

Cafonline.com: What kind of opposition are you expecting from them?
Nasredddine Nabi: They are a strong side with no less than four players in the mali national team, with a coach who has been with the team for a while. Our chances are equal and we have to do our best to win.

Cafonline.com: Are you worried by the fact that they won their last game 5-0 at home?
Nasreddine Nabi: Not at all. I know the capabilities of my players. Stade Malien has an effective attacking line-up and we have to deal with that.

Cafonline.com: What will be your approach?
Nasreddine Nabi: The target of every coach is to win, but in this case it won’t be an easy game. A defeat is the last thing on our minds since it may scupper our chances. Our main concern is to at least score a goal in Bamako.

Cafonline.com: How far do you want to go with Hilal after guiding AC Leopards (Congo) to the CAF Confederation Cup title two years ago?
Nasreddine Nabi: I want to go as far as possible. Everything is possible in football. The target is to qualify to the next round, then we can talk of other things. For now, we take each game at a time.

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