JEDDAH, 26 October 2004 — Ittihad will stick to their strategy of playing attacking soccer when they face Chonbuk Motors of South Korea in their away game of the Asian Champions Cup Soccer Tournament in Seoul today.
Ittihad, who have won the first leg 2-1, will be at full strength in the return leg. But despite their last-gasp victory in the first leg, Ittihad supporters are not convinced of their performance and are keeping their fingers crossed over the outcome of the result.
Though strikers Mohammad Nur and Hamad Al-Montaseri showed flashes of brilliance by striking one goal each, they also failed to cater to the diverse tastes of their demanding fans.
The Korean side, considered one of the best teams in Asia, will have an advantage of home crowd. Beating them on their soil will be a difficult task for Ittihad but not beyond them.
Ittihad coach Evitch is also being blamed for team’s indifferent showing and could well be in the sights of the fans if he and Ittihad fail to deliver.
In the first match he rested the top line-up by playing one attacker and stuck to a defensive plan. This led to many of Ittihad’s supporters blasting his tactics and they are not confident of an Ittihad win in the semifinals if the coach sticks to similar tactics.
Ittihad need to score and win or at least gain a draw to advance, while the Korean side need to win at all cost. This gives an additional impetus to the Koreans and in the event Ittihad play defensive, they could well come away with nothing.
The Korean side have added five new faces to their squad, whom they had excused from first leg duty. Three of them are national players while the two others are from Brazil. This will be an added advantage for the Koreans. If Ittihad win or gain draw, they will qualify for the final for the second time.
To win the match, Ittihad must play with two attackers -- Hamzah Idrees and Marzooq Al-Otaibi or Hamzah and Ibraheem Suwaid and with a strong midfield showing could well upset the Koreans.
Evitch also exuded confidence saying: “My team is not going to lose this game, I’ll choose a very competitive team and they will go for a win.”
