Al-Ittihad players talk about the aspirations of the fans, the relationship with the new coach, and preparations to face Al-Shamal in the AFC Champions League

Portuguese Danilo Pereira, Al-Ittihad player, said that he realizes the extent of the ambitions of his club’s fans and that they are “very demanding, and this is normal.”

Danilo said after the victory over Al-Faisaly: “We have to maintain our focus and deal with things in the right way. We know that the league is still going on, and we have a lot of matches ahead of us. Therefore, we must continue working and progressing one match after another until we reach our goal.”

He continued regarding their relationship with the new German coach Vissing: “I do not like making comparisons between coaches. As for his most prominent characteristic, he demands the same thing from all players, and treats everyone equally. “Those who work hard get the same opportunity to participate.”

He continued: “He is also a coach who listens to the players, and this is very important to us, and helps us work to achieve our goals.”

The Portuguese said: “Our next match against Al-Shamal in Qatar will be different from the league matches. Because it comes within the AFC Champions League. We are facing a different tournament, and we must be prepared for this confrontation. “We will go to Qatar to win.”

The newcomer to the Al-Ittihad squad, the Dutch player Wijnaldum, said that he now feels like a part of this club, and “I always feel the importance of the relationship with the fans.”

The Dutchman confirmed to reporters after the end of the match against Al-Faisaly: “This is my first match. What I can say is that the fans here are very passionate. Although the match was outside our home ground, it witnessed the presence of a large number of (Al-Ittihad) fans.”

Wijnaldum continued: “My message to the Al-Ittihad fans is clear; I said it before, this season I will give everything I have on a personal level to bring glory back to this club. As a team, we will do our best to succeed. I will also try to build a strong relationship with the fans; Because their support can help us a lot during the upcoming matches.”

He continued: “Our next match will be against Al-Shamal in Qatar, and it will be a difficult match. In fact, every game is tough right now; Because every team we face is a good team. I also talked about the atmosphere and weather, and I believe that the situation in Qatar will be different because of the stadiums. In any case, we have to deal with every match as a difficult confrontation so that we can give our best.”

He continued: “My relationship with Steven Bergwijn is very good, and goes back to the period when he rose to the first team in PSV Eindhoven. Since then, we have been in constant communication. We played together in Eindhoven, as well as in the Dutch national team, so our relationship was continuing before I came to Al-Ittihad.”

He continued: “I wanted to join this club. I spoke with Bergwijn, and he told me that he would be very happy to have me join the team, and that is what happened.”

Hamad Al-Montashari, manager of the first football team at Al-Ittihad Club, confirmed that the victory over Al-Faisaly “came by the grace and success of God, and the players and coach were at the highest level, and all the players were keen to appear well this season, and erase the image of last season. Praise be to God, everyone is cooperative, diligent and united, and our fans always support us and have confidence in us, and with God’s will, we will fight for them to the fullest extent.”

Al-Montashari concluded his speech to the media by saying: “Currently we are not thinking about the lead. Our lead is only today, and we seek to make our fans happy and satisfied, to achieve a position at the end of the league that suits them, and Al-Ittihad, after its name, is a team united in one spirit until the end.”