José Riveiro: ‘Plan ready’ to stop Messi as Al Ahly prepare for Inter Miami

José Riveiro, head coach of Al Ahly SC, confirmed the team’s readiness to achieve a positive result against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in the opening match of the FIFA Club World Cup on Saturday at 8:00 pm US time (3:00 am Cairo, 12:00 am GMT on Sunday).

Riveiro said during the press conference that the FIFA Club World Cup features some very strong teams, and the competition will be very open. The former Orlando Pirates coach expressed his wishes to lead Al Ahly to positive results in the group stage and qualify for the round of 16.

“Throughout the past period, I have worked with the coaching staff and the players to reach the best level before the start of the Club World Cup, even though I took over the task shortly before the beginning of the tournament. I am leading a great team, and I feel that I am currently on a historic mission in my coaching career.

“Al Ahly have a special nature and always want to compete strongly in all tournaments, and for that reason, we will face big challenges in the Club World Cup,” said Riveiro.

“Inter Miami includes distinguished players with great experience, and they have a lot of ambition. But we will do our utmost to achieve a good result and increase the team’s chances of qualifying for the next round.

“Lionel Messi is a great player with exceptional ability and he is well known to the world. He can change the course of any match. His way of reading games and exploiting opportunities is special. But we will work to stop his danger, and we have a plan ready for the match. Not only Messi is dangerous – there are other experienced players in Inter Miami as well,” the head coach continued.

“We have big ambitions in the Club World Cup, and I am trying to give the players more confidence. It is not easy for me as a head coach to take responsibility with the first task being participation in a major tournament like the Club World Cup.

“We will try to build on several factors, the most important of which is that Al Ahly is a team that always wins titles and is capable of competing with full strength.

“I am working with full force to increase harmony and trust among the players, and we will depend on collective performance during the match against Inter Miami,” concluded Riveiro.