success in Europe

Saudi players would be a success in Europe, says coach

Saudi Arabia`s star forward pairing Yasser Al Qahtani and Malek Maaz could play anywhere in the world, according to their Brazilian coach Helio Dos Anjos.
The dynamic strike duo shot down tournament favourites Japan 3-2 in the Asian Cup semi-finals on Wednesday to further bolster their burgeoning reputations in the region.
And Dos Anjos gushed over the pair afterwards, claiming they could play for any team in Europe, although he did complain that the oil-rich kingdom was suffering from not having players plying their trade on foreign shores.
"The big advantage that Australia, Japan and South Korea have over Saudi Arabia is that we don`t have any players playing outside of their own country," said Dos Anjos.
"That brings some problems for our team, especially in terms of competitiveness. Even Iraq have some players playing in other Gulf leagues.
"But these are two players (Maaz and Al Qahtani) who would have no problems playing in any team in Japan or in Europe, and some of our other players too, and I hope this will happen in the future."
Maaz scored twice, including a brilliant individual winner, and Al Qahtani bagged his fourth goal of the tournament as Japan`s defenders failed to deal with the Saudis` rapier counter-attacks.
The approach also proved successful against Uzbekistan in the previous round.
In fact Saudi Arabia have been largely dominated by both their opponents in the knock-out stages but each time could have come away with bigger victories than the 2-1 score against Uzbekistan and Wednesday`s 3-2 success over the reigning double champions.
Their players attack with speed, skill and a willingness to charge forward and take on all comers, confident in the knowledge they have the ability to beat players one-on-one.
It has made Saudi Arabia one of the most dangerous teams in Asia, although Dos Anjos denied that they play deliberately on the counter-attack.
"My team can play offensively but the characteristics of the Japanese team made it easier to play on the counter-attack," he was quoted by AFP as saying.
"We play this way because we have two very good strikers who could play in the big teams in Europe.
"But it is not that we want to play with a catenaccio style, the Japanese made us play this way."
The run to the final is just reward for Dos Anjos and the perfect riposte to those that have claimed the Green Falcons have been flying on luck.
"One thing that I have heard throughout this tournament is that we have been lucky," said the Brazilian, who is one match away from leading the Saudis to their fourth Asian Cup success.
"Luck might happen in one game but not in every game and we have answered the people that have said we have been lucky." (dre.mhs&m07)