Al Ahly coach reveals what motivated him to come to the African giants

Ahead of Al Ahly’s opening match in the CAF Champions League group stage, Danish coach Jess Thorup expressed the importance of focusing ahead of this top competition. Speaking to the media before facing JS Kabylie, Thorup touched on the the return from the international break, and the ambition driving Al Ahly this season.

JS Kabylie will visit Al Ahly on Saturday evening in the opening round of the CAF Champions League group stage.

Thorup said in a press conference, according to FilGoal:
“We go into the JS Kabylie match after winning the Super Cup. We celebrated for a short time, then most of the players joined their national teams. Yesterday was the first day the squad was complete again after the international break. It is important that we refocus, especially as we prepare for an important competition like the CAF Champions League. We must concentrate well on the upcoming match that we play at home.”

He added:
“Our ambition is to win all matches, especially those we play on our home ground. I hope the fans support us strongly to achieve victory. Having as many fans as possible tomorrow will give us a big boost and help us deliver our best performance.”

The Danish coach gave an update on the returning star Emam Ashour:
“Emam Ashour trained well over the past days, and his physical condition is improving. We will choose the appropriate moment for him to participate.”

Thorup went on about the U-17 players:
“Yesterday was the first time I met Hamza Abdel Karim. I had already watched many clips of him. I believe it is the right time for talents like Hamza and Bilal Atiya to appear, so we can benefit from them in the next phase. I have previous experience working with players of this age.”

He added:
“I don’t want to live on what happened in the past. We need to focus on the future, and we have to focus on the African competition. That is why we must maintain our concentration and develop our performance.”

Al Ahly coach continued:
“As I said before, I came here knowing the value of Al Ahly and the pressure from the fans and the media, in addition to the constant desire to win titles. This motivated me to come. What is required from me is clear — winning and achieving championships. And the more we work together, the more titles we will achieve.”

He revealed:
“I follow every player with his national team, and we work with the fitness coach in coordination with the national teams’ coaching staff to prepare the players. As for the players who did not participate, we prepare them differently to improve their fitness levels. When I arrived here, the team’s fitness was not good, and we worked on improving it.”

Thorup concluded:
“Of course, the issue of injuries is very important, and we must deal with it. But the good thing is that yesterday we had 25 players in training, in addition to four goalkeepers. This means we do not have a large number of injuries, and all players are capable of participating. Everyone wants to help the team, and having all players available gives us comfort in choosing who will play.”

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