The emotion of it all is getting too much already. With the biggest fixture in Asian club football within touching distance, even the most experienced are getting tetchy.
Paulo Sousa can usually be found prowling the Shabab Al Ahli technical area in much the same way as he did the midfields of some of the game’s most illustrious clubs in his playing days.
Let’s get this straight: the AFC Champions League Elite might be the pinnacle of the game on the continent. But someone who played for the likes of Benfica, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan might be excused for thinking: been there, done that, got the winner’s medal.
That would be to underestimate Sousa. In nearly two years at the helm of Shabab Al Ahli, his drive has transformed the club.
They were domestic double winners last season, and went deep in two other major competitions besides. It earned them a shot at the Asian game’s No 1 prize this time around.
Even when the stakes have been low and the crowds sparse, he treads the line of his technical area with the same intent he brought to playing the game.
As such, it was odd seeing him sat so impassively for most of Shabab Al Ahli’s undulating quarter-final against Buriram United on Saturday night.
For the latter two-thirds of his side’s exhausting, extra-time win against the champions of Thailand he sat quietly on the bench.
He rarely emerged, and occasionally voiced his instructions through his assistants. It looked like he was in some sort of socially distanced quarantine.
The reason? He had the hump with the referee, and didn’t want to run the risk of telling him what he really thought.
“I was sitting outside of the pitch because of the many mistakes by the referee,” Sousa said. “I believe it showed the maturity of the team to get through the match. We had a lot of captains like Renan [Victor, the centre-back] who were mature enough to address the issues we faced.”
Buriram, who won four trophies themselves last season, battled back pluckily from 2-0 down to force extra-time. Shabab Al Ahli ultimately had enough to quell the challenge, with Renan scoring the winner at the start of the extra 30 minutes.
The Dubai side had scores of opportunities to kill the game off, both in normal time and the extra period.
That said, there was little doubt they were unsettled by the physicality of the Thai club – even if all three of their goals came from set pieces.
“If I was to say before the game that we were going to lose this game with three set pieces, then I would have been very, very surprised,” Mark Jackson, Buriram’s manager, said.
“We've been excellent this year, particularly in the Champions League, at defending set plays, and tonight that's let us down.”
Backing up Sousa’s point, the game was littered with confrontations. Buriram picked up five yellow cards and a red – given in the last play of the game when Myeong-Seok Ko hacked down the tireless Shabab Al Ahli winger Guilherme Bala.
Shabab Al Ahli had one yellow card of their own and conceded a penalty, in a game which was again disrupted to a frustrating level by VAR.
It required cool heads, and Sousa was right to pick out Renan for praise. The centre back finished the game with the captain’s armband, after Federico Cartabia, who was excellent in attack, gave way to cramp.
Renan scored the winner at a corner and led the defensive rearguard when Buriram tried to fight back.
“I’m of course very happy and pleased that we qualified,” said Renan. “It was a tough match and has been a tough tournament.
“We had the game under control, and the support by the coach and the other staff was very good. I’m happy that we were able to get a result in our favour.”
Shabab will now advance to a semi-final on Tuesday night against the Japanese side Machida Zelvia, who beat Saudi Arabian giants Al Ittihad in their quarter-final.
There will be less than 72 hours between the end of the game against Buriram and kick off against a Machida side who have had an extra day of rest.
Sousa did his best to refresh his side on a sapping night in Jeddah, but the focus was merely on making it through to the last four.
“We lost the balance in the team but we were able to gain that back with substitutions, which gave us energy,” Sousa said.
“Technically and tactically speaking, we were doing well and had a lot of opportunities and were able to score goals.
“I cannot say that I’m happy enough; I’m very happy and content we have achieved a result that we have not been able to achieve since 2015 [when Al Ahli, who subsequently merged with Al Shabab, reached the final].
“We always want to play attacking football. We always want to score a lot of goals. We have scored three goals twice now, so from that perspective, things are going well for us.”
