Sydney FC midfielder Paulo Retre says limiting Socceroos star Aaron Mooy’s time on the ball tonight will be key to the club defeating Shanghai SIPG.
Retre played alongside Mooy for two years at Melbourne City and will have the job of containing the Socceroo should he start in central midfield.
MATCH CENTRE: Sydney FC vs Shanghai SIPG
WATCH VIDEO: Sydney FC’s Official Pre-Match Press Conference
“He’s one of those players who always wants to be on the ball, he always wants to play forward and hurt the opposition, so I’m sure he’s going to be the same at SIPG,” said the 27 year old.
“I’m not sure how much he’s played recently but I’m sure he’ll be raring to go and will make a big impact. It’s going to be interesting for us to stop that and limit his time on the ball.”
Retre also dismissed concerns over the dangers of catching coronavirus, even suggesting a hub type competition may be the future of the AFC Champions League competition.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by all the facilities in Qatar,” he continued.
“Our hotel is lovely, the food and all the protocols that have been put in place have been really good.
“The training facility is a very nice quick ground, and going forward maybe it’s the way to go, getting everyone together and having a centralised hub.
“It gives us the advantage that we are here and preparing without the travel aspect, and we can get it all finished in a couple of weeks; so maybe it’s something they will look at.”
Head Coach Steve Corica agrees that the lack of travel is a bonus but is cautious about the first game.
“We’ve won the league in the last couple of years in Australia so we have the best team in Australia, but this is obviously a very different competition and there’s a lot of quality in each team.
“It helps us a lot being together in the hub environment and not having the travel that we normally do.
“Once we’ve settled in and we get the first game underway, it gives us a good opportunity in this tournament.”
Join the Sky Blue Family and be on-board for the club’s ‘threepeat’ quest!
Sign up as a 2020/21 Member today.
