Ahly players need to have focus and concentrate to achieve a positive result against Guinea s Horoya FC in the African Champions League, according to their coach Patrice Carteron, who reiterated his desire to bring the prestigious trophy back to the Cairo giants after a five-year absence.
Ahly will be hosted by the Guinean team on Friday in the first leg of the prestigious tournament s quarterfinals, while the return leg will be played in Cairo eight days later.
"Horoya s match won t be an easy confrontation at all," the coach was quoted as saying by Ahly s official website on Wednesday.
"We will be facing a stubborn opponent on their own pitch amid the presence of their own fans and so we must be fully concentrated to achieve our target and return back with the best possible result ahead of the return match," the French coach added.
Ahly, the record eight-time African Champions, finished the group stage on top of Group A ahead of Tunisian giants Esperance.
After losing in last year s final, the Cairo giants are hoping to claim their ninth African title and first since 2013.
"We respect all of our opponents. I hope that we deliver a good and strong game against Horoya. I watched all their matches in the champions league. It is a strong opponent that played good games and managed to reach the quarters," Carteron explained.
"There are many talented players in Horoya team, especially in the frontline.”
"Our main target is to win the champions league title but we have to take the tournament step by step. We consider every match as a single tournament. We always work to please Ahly fans and achieve their dream of winning all the trophies," the coach concluded.
If Ahly manage to progress to the semis, they will face the winner between ES Setif of Algeria and defending champions Wydad Casablanca of Morocco.
Ahly are currently jointly on top of the Egyptian league with 11 points with rivals Pyramids FC, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Smouha on Sunday.
