Al Jazira head coach Marcel Keizer has heaped praise on Thulani Serero ahead of their FIFA Club World Cup opener on Thursday.
The reigning UAE Pro League champions qualified for the tournament by virtue of hosting the showpiece after Japan pulled out last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
And ahead of their first game, iDiski Times probed the head coach about their influential midfielder who played a pivotal role in their title success that qualified them for the event.
“For Thulani, I also worked with him at Ajax and well… he’s a very good player,” he said in the pre-match press conference ahead of their clash against AS Pirae tomorrow.
“He’s a very good player in the league – also very good person in the team, [he] helps the team a lot. So we are really happy with him.”
The Dutchman went on to suggest that there’s no pressure on the squad to challenge for the title and they’re ready to enjoy the experience with their home support.
“Well, we take it [the tournament], game by game, so of course, nobody expects us to win from all the big teams who are competing here,” he added.
“For ourselves, we’re playing at the highest level here and we want to compete and that’s what we do game by game and see what happens.”
Al Ankabout take on the Tahiti outfit at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium on Thursday afternoon (18h00).
Story by Lorenz Kohler (@Lorenz_KO).
