As the Sky Blues Hyundai A-League 2015/16 season came to an end on Sunday, Sydney FC winger Ali Abbas says focus has immediately shifted to their AFC Champions League campaign with two rounds remaining in the group stage.
Abbas said the Sky Blues can take confidence from their past two games, a romping 4-0 victory over Perth Glory and a hard fought 1-0 win over Pohang Steelers, as the Iraqi international said he believes the Sky Blues can cause plenty of problems should they reach the round of 16.
“Last few games we’ve done really well and showed how good we are as a team and individual players as well, we just have to forget about this season,” Abbas said.
“Of course everyone is disappointed, the fans, us as well, but we just have to forget about that.
“We’ve got an important game coming up in the ACL so we need to focus on that and I think the last two games is going to give us the confidence to go and play some good football.
“We have really great players, everyone saw that last night and we showed it. We should be in the Finals but obviously sometimes it didn’t go our way.
“We just have to forget about that, focus on ACL now and hopefully we’ll do something there.
“It’s going to be hard, the next two games coming up for us,” he continued.
“We’ve showed when we’re under pressure that we can win games so hopefully we will make the last 16 and I think we can do some damage there and we’re looking forward to that.”
After returning from a serious knee injury at the start of 2016, Abbas said he’s targeting continual improvement in the offseason and next preseason while setting his sights on a return to international football with Iraq.
“It’s always my goal to get better in every aspect of my game and I think I can give more hopefully next year,” he said.
“It’s my number one goal to go back and play for the national team. Hopefully nothing will stop me, hopefully no big injury again, I’ll work as hard as I can to enjoy the football and be in the best shape.”
Sydney FC take on Urawa Red Diamonds in the AFC Champions League group stage at Sydney Football Stadium on Wednesday 20 April (kick off 8pm). Catch the match 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
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