Cosmin Olaroiu: 'Nobody gave Al Ahli a chance'

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  • Final countdown: Winger Oussama Assaidi and Cosmin Olaroiu.

    Emotional Cosmin Olaroiu hailed the heroes who have carried Al Ahli to an historic first AFC Champions League final at the expense of his beloved former club Al Hilal.

    The 46-year-old watched his Red Knights edge a frantic semi-final, second leg last night, which saw the Dubai club heading out on away goals after being pegged back from 2-0 up before utility man Kwon Kyung-won struck a deflected 94th-minute winner.

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    “This is the first time I came to Rashid Stadium one hour and a half before and the stadium is full,” said the Romanian, who lifted three trophies at the Crescent from 2007-09.

    “It’s the first time I see the stadium full and it’s the first time that I was thinking the stadium was small for the supporters that came today.

    “This is the most important thing, this is football and it should be like this all the time. It’s qualification but for me it’s a little bit difficult because against Hilal one eye cries and one eye is happy.

    “Of course, I’m happy mostly for my players. They are heroes for what they have done. Nobody gave them a chance and they are in the final and I told them they don’t have to stop here. We had a lot of problems during the game, but now we have qualified.

    “I think from what happened over the two games we deserved to qualify and my players deserve the congratulations in the way they play and they fight and they don’t give up. They deserve the best performance in the club’s history in this kind of Champions League competition.”

    The Red Knights will learn the identity of their opponents for next month’s two-legged decider this afternoon. J-League champions Gamba Osaka will be aiming on home soil to claw back a 2-1 deficit against big spending Chinese Super League outfit Guangzhou Evergrande.

    Olaroiu promised his side would give their all to become the continent’s kings, no matter the outcome of the final.

    He added: “We are going to try our best to make the dream real. This is what we can tell you.

    “Of course in any competition you have difficult experience but all of these competitions from the beginning until now we have played well and in the group we didn’t lose any games.

    “Even though we don’t have big experience, we compensate with good attitude and effort.”

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