Sydney FC Head Coach Graham Arnold has called for his squad to bring the Australian mentality to Sydney Football Stadium tomorrow night as he prepares to face reigning Asian Champions Guangzhou Evergrande.
Arnold said his Sky Blues aren’t intimidated by the wealth and players at the disposal of the Chinese club, as defender Rhyan Grant said he’s excited by the challenge that poses itself when the Sky Blues kick off in matchday two of the AFC Champions League.
“It’s a challenge for us that’s definitely achievable,” Arnold said.
“We’re not intimidated, we’ve got to show the Australian mentality and that’s to be aggressive, to fight for 90 minutes and then to try and put them off their game. We’ve got to go out with the mentality that we’re ready for it.
“At home, with a good Sydney FC crowd behind us, anything is possible.”
“Obviously I’m excited for tomorrow,” Grant continued.
“We’re looking forward to testing ourselves against them and I’m pretty excited to get out there and see how we go.
“You want to test yourself against the best and this is the area to do it, it will be a good to test ourselves.”
After travelling from Tokyo to Melbourne and then back to Sydney, Grant said the squad were feeling no ill effects from their travel as Arnold confirmed both Matt Simon and Alex Brosque were unavailable for Wednesday’s fixture.
“I don’t feel too bad,” Grant said.
“Obviously it’s a bit of travel and the games have been a bit intense, but we actually feel pretty good and we’ve got great staff looking after us 24/7 so we feel pretty well.”
“Matt Simon we hope will be available on Saturday but Alex Brosque is not looking too good,” Arnold continued.
“We’re getting a second opinion on him [Brosque] now and by the weekend we’ll know how long he’s out for but it’s not looking great.”
Sydney FC take on Guangzhou Evergrande in matchday two of the AFC Champions League 2016 group stage. Catch the game live on Fox Sports 4 or follow @SydneyFC on Twitter for updates.
Sydney FC’s 2016 AFC Champions League campaign proudly supported by StarTrack and UNSW
Sydney FC welcome Guangzhou Evergrande to Sydney Football Stadium for their first home AFC Champions League match of the group stage on Wednesday 2 March (kick off 8pm AEDT). Get your AFC Champions League Membership today and see the Sky Blues take on the best in Asia at home!
