HAGL to play beautiful football in upcoming AFC Champions League games

“In this AFC Champions League, the club owner Doan Nguyen Duc wants the players to perform comfortably and entertain the fans with beautiful football. He wants HAGL to make the most of their abilities,” Kiatisuk said in an interview Monday.

After 17 years, HAGL are back in the ACL – the highest level of football for Asian clubs. HAGL were also chosen to be the host of group H, all matches of which are played in HCMC’s Thong Nhat Stadium.

In the first fixture, HAGL lost 1-2 to Japan’s Yokohama F. Marinos, while the other two clubs, Australia’s Sydney FC and South Korean champions Jeonbuk shared a goalless draw.

Kiatisuk considers the game with Sydney on Tuesday important and hopes the players will try their best to get a positive result.

“I have watched Sydney play Jeonbuk. They created many chances in that game. Their players have great physique and stamina – which is different from Yokohama. Therefore, HAGL need a different preparation,” Kiatisuk said.

In the game against Yokohama, HAGL conceded two goals from set-pieces, so Kiatisuk focused on this problem so that the team won’t make those mistakes again.

“Nobody’s perfect in football and no one is sure that they won’t make mistakes. Therefore, we always try to learn after each game. Football is a team sport. We will use our strength, which is short balls and great technical skills to play well in this year’s ACL,” he added.