Ahly and Masry coaches (Photo: ahram Online)
Ahly and Masry coaches Hossam El-Badry and Hossam Hassan have expressed their stress and concerns ahead of Friday's Egypt Super Cup game which is set to be played in the UAE on Friday, but also expressed hope their respective team would win.
The 15th Egypt Super Cup is set to take place at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al-Ain City in the UAE on Friday 18:00 Cairo Local Time (GMT +2).
"Ahly team has been very stressed lately due to the tight schedule [in the Egyptian League] but we are determined to win the game," the 57-year-old tactician El-Badry stated to the pre-match press conference in Al-Ain Thursday.
"We must be ready to deliver a performance that positively represents the Egyptian football," he added.
Ahly have just won a precious 3-0 victory in a Cairo-derby show against arch-rivals Zamalek on Monday that cost them an injury for key defender Rami Rabea.
"Ahly always have substitutes. We are determined to win. Ahly is a big team and knows how to handle circumstances like these," El-Badry stressed.
On the other side, Hassan, 53, has shown his usual confidence and enthusiasm during the press conference but his statements reflected implicit concerns about the game.
"Masry are facing very tough circumstances but we promise we will introduce very good players to Egyptian fooball," Hassan stated.
The Port Said club have lost the service of Burkina Faso striker Bance as he abandoned the team, leaving the country without the club's permission for the third time this season.
"Bance became past now. His mistakes have been repeated and he was thought to be a professional player. Masry club will never depend on one player. We made new deals this winter and they will be available for the game," he added.
Masry have lost their last game 3-2 to Smouha in the Egyptian Premier League to freeze at 30 points in the third place of the table, ten points behind leaders Ismaily, and nine less than second-placed Ahly.
Masry have made loan deals for Ahly's Abdullah El-Shmay, Nasr's Islam Issa, Wadi Degla's Youssif Watara, Maqassa's Ahmed Masoud and Smouha's Walid Hassan.
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