Flamengo coach asks to focus on the semi-final against Al Hilal instead of talking about a hypothetical final against Liverpool

The Flamengo coach, Portuguese Jorge Jesus, asked on Monday to concentrate only on the semi-final against Saudi Al Hilal and stop talking about a hypothetical Club World Cup final against English Liverpool.

"I'm not interested in talking about Liverpool, we are going to play with Al Hilal, not with Liverpool," said the coach in the pre-match press conference before the semi-final match against the Asian champion, which will be held in Doha, Qatar's capital.

He warned that in Brazil "there is much talk" about the English team and that fans and the media "forget" that there is a match before.

"They forget because it is a Saudi team, it is not from Europe and it is not valued," he pointed out.

Flamengo, champion of the League and Copa Libertadores, will play for a spot in the Club World Cup final against Al Hilal on Tuesday, the most decorated team in Saudi Arabia, which has important players such as the French Bafetimbi Gomis, the Italian Sebastian Giovinco or the Peruvian André Carrillo.

The winner will face the winner of the other semi-final, which will be played between English Liverpool and Mexican Monterrey.

Jorge Jesus highlights Al Hilal's qualities and insists on focusing on Liverpool later

Jorge Jesus, who coached Al Hilal between mid-2018 and January of this year, highlighted about his former team that "it is the biggest Arab club" and that all the Saudi players in the squad play for the national team.

"I know them well. We have great respect for Al Hilal, then we will think about Liverpool," he insisted.

He also said that they will not change their way of playing for that match because "it would be a step backwards."

"The way of attacking and defending will be the same. It is essential to know how to run on the field. It is one of the things we look for in our team," he said.

"We want to value our game more and we hope to be able to apply it. Sometimes it is not possible due to the defensive merit of the opponent. The game is strategy," he concluded.

He also said that he does not feel overwhelmed by winning another title for Flamengo because, in his opinion, "pressure is synonymous with success."

"Who doesn't want it? I want to live my whole life with that pressure," he guaranteed.

Jorge Jesus remembers his time at Al Hilal and praises current coach Razvan Lucescu

Regarding his reunion with Al Hilal, he said that he holds fondness for all the players who were with him at that time, who are the majority of the team, and he assured that he helped form the current starting eleven.

"The four attackers arrived when I arrived," he specified.

However, he praised the "good work" of his current coach, Romanian Razvan Lucescu, who triumphed in Greece and had, as Jorge Jesus recalled, "a great teacher like his father," Mircea Lucescu, who "is one of the great coaches in the world." EFE