U17: Al Ahly vs Real Madrid Post Match Press Conference Day 4

Despite losing 0-1 against the tournament’s defending champions Real Madrid, Al Ahly Head Coach Ossama Sayed Hassanein believes his team played better than their first match with Kashiwa Reysol. Addressing a post-match press conference, the Egyptian coach expressed his satisfaction with his team’s better performance, adding that his players displayed better defense than their first match.

Hassanein said stressed that 10 of the players at the match were aged 14 years old, and to be able to go up against a strong physical team like Real Madrid was a great competition.

“There are a lot of good takeaways in the match. We played great defensively, tried to play our game, and pushed forward in the front field. Even though they are a big team, we put up a great match up against them. They are a well-known team, I congratulate them on the win. But we were putting up a fight and with the score being one nil, it shows great resilience from both of our players. They have proven themselves and hopefully we’ll learn from our mistakes and do better in the next match,” he added.

Also addressing the media after the match, Real Madrid Head Coach Alvaro Lopez Bermejo stressed that his team showed a very balanced match and dominated the game. He said the players tried to make the game more balanced and tried to score another goal, but didn’t manage.

Responding to a question on the possible reasons for the missed opportunities, the Spanish coach said it can be “technical ability of the players who are trying to score the chances, or also a bit of relaxation because the team has players who were more totally dominating the game; but also it’s a tournament under 17 and under 16, we can get nervous and that plays a part in the scoring of the game”.

Bermejo went on to congratulate Al Ahly and noted that they showed why they are a great academy.