Conceicao: I told the players to give everything, that I would acce …

Al Ittihad, with Sérgio Conceição and Danilo Pereira, was eliminated from the Saudi Arabian King’s Cup in the semi-finals . One step away from the final, the team succumbed to penalties against Al Kholood. 

Conceição missed the chance to compete in his 16th career final, which would have put him level with Abel Ferreira and Jesualdo Ferreira in fourth place among Portuguese coaches with the most finals of his career.

At the end of the match, Conceição admitted it was “difficult” to talk about the game. “Losing on penalties is difficult. I told the players to give everything, that I would accept the defeat. There were moments when we lacked some offensive and defensive aggression, because we had several opportunities to kill the game and to win the game,” he lamented.

A serious injury to Mahamadou Doumbia just 12 minutes into the game hampered the team. Conceição was confronted with this fact. 

“We had a positive period after our training camp in Dubai, winning six games, but the January transfer window greatly affected the team and some key players left. I don’t want to make excuses for that, but at the moment Doumbia is a key player in midfield, where we don’t have many options. We all have to work, the management has to work, the players have to work, I have to work, he stated. With the chances of winning a title this season fading, the Portuguese coach was direct: “I arrived mid-season, and I think everyone has to take responsibility, and I take responsibility for mine.