FRANCE 98 – Saudi Arabia – C. Parreira: “We're not afraid of the France team”
Statements from Saint Pierre du Perray (southeast of PARIS):
The SAUDI ARABIA (Group C) coach, Carlos Alberto PARREIRA, held a press conference on Tuesday 16 June. Two days before the very important match against FRANCE (Group C), SAUDI ARABIA had an intense physical and tactical training in Moissy Cramayel. The Saudis had the afternoon off, and will begin training again tomorrow, 17 June, at 18h00.
-What are SAUDI ARABIA’s World Cup goals?
“Despite our loss to DENMARK (Group C), we remain ambitious and we believe that we have a chance. Even if we made quite a few mistakes in our game against the Danes, we played a high-quality, realistic match. Our chances to qualify for the second round are still high.”
-How would you evaluate your current team?
“For three years now, SAUDI ARABIA has been searching for a truly great player, like Majed Abulah, a player who led our team to the round of sixteen four years ago. I am confident in the potential of my team, which has four very experienced players. AL OWAIRAN (10), AL DOSARI (8), AL MUWALID (14) and AL DAYEA (1) are the backbone of our team.”
-What is your mindset before the match against FRANCE?
“We have our backs against the wall. Even if FRANCE is the favourite, we could surprise everyone. None of our players are injured, and five of our players have the experience of the last World Cup. We aren’t afraid of the FRANCE team. In my opinion underdogs like us are just waiting to surprise everyone! I feel that ZIDANE (10) is the best player on the FRANCE team. Every team is coming up with strategies to thwart his game. I expect the match to be very difficult, but of an extremely high quality since FRANCE has other good players besides ZIDANE (10). We also need to watch out for dead ball situations since a lot of goals have been scored from the corner since the World Cup kicked off.”
-Are you banking on SOUTH AFRICA to lose against DENMARK? (Group C)?
“You should never bet that another team is going to lose. We need to depend on ourselves; we guide our own destiny. However, our match against SOUTH AFRICA will be very important.”
-What’s your take on Brazilian football?
“Brazilian football is a religion. When there’s a match on TV, there’s no one in the streets and stores are closed. Imagine what it would be like if there were no activity on the Champs-Elysées for 90 minutes! I must admit that I’m a real fan of their team. I am very good friends with Mario ZAGALLO, the BRAZIL coach, and I admire him greatly.”
-Do you feel like you’re under pressure?
“We feel fairly free, even with the Prince calling us every day to get an update on the condition of each player. He is not shy about giving his opinion of the team. The only pressure we feel is sports pressure and I can assure you that we know how to deal with that.”