Portuguese coach Manuel Jose of Egypt's Al Ahly (Photo: Reuters)
Ahly’s Portuguese manager Manuel Jose is delighted with his team’s performance against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, despite the 2-1 defeat. The two teams met in the Qatari capital Doha for a friendly on Saturday as part of a deal with an international marketing company in which the Egyptian club will receive $200,000.
“The result doesn’t count, because we played a good match against the third best team in Europe and we dominated on the pitch,” Jose said in the post-match press conference.
The Egyptian champions came from behind in the 50th minute when midfielder Mohamed Baraket scored the equaliser before Croatian striker Ivica Olic striker scored his second goal in stoppage time to enable the German side to clinch a stunning win.
“My players appeared confident against a powerful opponent, delivering a very good performance. The last minute win didn’t upset me that much,” Jose added.
Jose announced that he was pleased to play against Bayern and he thanked the Qatari organisers.
Bayern are the most successful team in the German Bundesliga. They won the 2001 European Champion League title and lost to Inter Milan in the 2010 final.
“You play everywhere on the pitch, but finally German won; we have to concentrate now on the El-Entag El-Harby league match,” the 65-year-old concluded.
Ahly are competing for their eighth successive league title and are currently third with 26 points, two behind league leaders Haras El-Hodoud.
Al-Ahli's head coach Manuel Jose (L) shakes hands with Bayern Munich's coach Jupp Heynckes during their friendly soccer match in Doha January 7, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)
For his part, the Bavarian team manager Jupp Heynckes praised Ahly, declaring that he is “proud” to have played against such a strong African team.
“The match wasn’t easy at all. We were surprised by Ahly’s toughness and determination,” Heynckes said.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter: @AO_Sports).
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