The UAE national team midfielder is confident Al Ahli will be back challenging for trophies this season after a disappointing 2014/15 campaign.
He spoke to his club’s website about his aspirations for this campaign:
On the Asian Champions League
In an interview translated from Arabic by The National, Hassan said Ahli have dreams of winning the Asian Champions League after reaching the last eight, where they meet Iranian club Naft Tehran away on August 26 before hosting the second leg on September 16.
He said: “We are only focusing on the next game for now. That does not mean we are not thinking about the title, but we should proceed step by step.
“Everyone knows we have reached this stage of the tournament through a massive team effort and we need to maintain our levels in the coming rounds.”
On trying to win a domestic treble
After meekly surrendering their league crown, Ahli ended their season on a positive note as they reached the final of the President’s Cup, where they lost to Al Nasr.
Hassan said Ahli hope the conclusion of the next domestic campaign will yield an unprecedented collection of trophies for Ahli.
“Our ambitions have no limits and we are thinking about a historical treble,” he said. “But in football, everything depends on what you do on the pitch, so we have to work really hard to achieve our ambitions and hopefully we can achieve our goals.”
On the quality of the AGL
The midfielder, 22, knows there will be stiff competition for the titles this season as all the top clubs have been busy in the transfer window.
With the additions of players such as Jefferson Farfan at Al Jazira and Emmanuel Emenike at champions Al Ain, Hassan expects the standards of the Arabian Gulf League to improve.
“I expect the competition to be really strong in the coming season, looking at the additions to the league this summer.”
Referring to the Arabian Gulf League, Hassan added: “We have attracted players of great potential, players who are well-known across the world of football.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at NatSportUAE
