D'Alessandro warned to keep his cool
Reuters - Monday 13 December 2010, 18:54
ABU DHABI - Internacional's hot-headed
Argentine playmaker Andres D'Alessandro must keep his cool in
the face of possible heavy marking by TP Mazembe's in their Club
World Cup semi-final on Tuesday, coach Celso Roth said.
The Brazilian side, holders of South America's Libertadores
Cup, will be looking to reach their second final when they clash
with the African champions from the DR Congo at Mohammad bin
Zayed stadium.
Mazembe, playing in their second consecutive Club World Cup
in Abu Dhabi, upset Mexico's Pachuca 1-0 on Friday to reach the
semi-finals but picked up a red card and had another three
players booked.
"D'Alessandro is not a kid any more but he's impetuous and
he has some problems in certain situations," Roth told a news
conference on Monday.
Roth pointed out, though, that the 29-year-old had gained a
new maturity and was back in the Argentina team.
"He knows he cannot enter into the provocation game...He
watched the Pachuca game (against Mazembe) and he knows not to
retaliate against anybody."
Mazembe's Senegalese coach Lamine N'Diaye had earlier been
asked what preparations his team were making for possible
provocation from the Brazilian side.
"It's not our main quality to go in kicking... We do not give
out instructions to break our opponents or harden the game.
We're here to play football," he said.
"We won't change our style of play...We try to keep the
players calm but we don't think at all about (opponents'
provocation)."
KEY MINUTES
Roth said the opening minutes were key. Mazembe scored after
21 minutes against Pachuca.
"Mazembe attacked right away, they got to Pachuca's area
quickly, we have to bear that in mind," he said.
"We need to control our anxiety. We must be 100 percent
concentrated because there is no afterwards.
"Pachuca went into their match as favourites and that's the
big danger, we have to be wary of being surprised."
Roth said there was still a difference between European and
South American teams and those from the other FIFA
confederations but that the gap was becoming narrower.
"It's no novelty that African football has progressed," said
Roth.
"What stands out about Mazembe is their collective strength.
They have good, technical players and a lot of tactical
discipline. That's what surprised Pachuca."
Mazembe are bidding to become the first African team to beat
a South American side in the competition.