Gulf Times
Al Sadd star Akram Afif has warned Persepolis his performance is only getting better the further the 2018 AFC Champions League progresses ahead of their semi-final clash against the Tehran giants on Tuesday.Leading scorer Baghdad Bounedjah and Spanish superstar Xavi may have hogged the headlines as Al Sadd reached the AFC Champions League semi-finals, but it is young Qatari talent Akram Afif who has been one of the real success stories of the Doha club’s continental campaign.And according to the 21-year-old forward, who was recently named AFC Champions League Toyota Player of the Week, the best is very much still to come.“I am very happy with my progress, which has been aided by the coaching staff and my teammates,” said Afif, who netted in both legs of the quarter-final as Al Sadd defeated Tehran’s Esteghlal 5-3 on aggregate.“My performance is improving from game to game and I always strive for the best.“We are delighted to go through to the semi-finals, despite having a tough time against Esteghlal. Seven of our players were away from the team during the pre-match preparations, due to international commitments. “We could only come together just four days before the game. But we managed to deal with the game in the proper way and kept hold of our advantage from the first leg.“We are now focusing on preparation for the big game against Persepolis in the AFC Champions League semi-finals,” he added.Meanwhile, Al Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira said he expected his side to score a “big number” of goals against Persepolis on Tuesday.“I am satisfied to see the team continue winning both in Asia and domestically, and not waste points. At Al Sadd, we have a strong squad and I am reassured by the team’s performances until now,” said the Portuguese.“It is very important for us to have a strong strike force, as we have a crucial game coming up in the AFC Champions League. We should work towards scoring a big number of goals in the first leg, so that it can be of benefit in the second leg in Tehran.”Ferreira also spoke about his team’s win against Qatar Sports Club this week in the QNB Stars League.“The temperature was very high, but the Al Sadd players were very impressive. In the first 30 minutes, we had many chances, through which we scored three goals. After that, I asked the players to slow down the tempo of the game to endure through the game.“In the second half, we wasted a penalty and missed a number of chances. We tried not to exhaust ourselves. Qatar SC put up a good game and they could have scored two or three goals. The result is fair for us, as per our performance. And I also got what I wanted, which was to avoid injuries to any player.”Finally, Ferreira also shared his remarks on his gesture to go and greet Samuel Eto’o when the Qatar SC forward was substituted. “In my view, Eto’o is still a big player and he was one of the best strikers in the world. I think the clubs (here) have done well by signing players like Xavi, Gabi and Eto’o because they are fully serious in their work and their presence in Qatar will help the local players to develop.”