Roberto Firmino said he was proud of making history with his Saudi club and becoming an Asian Champions League winner, six years after lifting the prestigious European equivalent with Liverpool.
The 33-year-old Brazilian forward was an important member of Jurgen Klopp’s side who won the UEFA Champions League in 2019.
Firmino was named the AFC Champions League’s most valuable player after inspiring Al Ahli to beat Kawasaki Frontale 2-0 on Saturday as the Jeddah club became Asian champions for the first time.
“I’m very happy and very proud of the team,” said Firmino. “Happy to make history here and able to repay the support of the club, family and friends.
“I’m very grateful and I feel privileged to be given this talent and opportunity. I always do my best to help my teammates and my team.”
Firmino scored six goals en route to the final and was pivotal again in the showpiece.
The veteran laid on the pass for fellow Brazilian Galeno to curl a delicious shot into the top corner in the 35th minute before producing a pinpoint cross seven minutes later for Franck Kessie to nod home.
“This title win shows us to have a monster mentality,” said Firmino.
“We always believed we could be champions and we have done it.”
Al Ahli head coach Matthias Jaissle praised the 58,000 home fans at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City Stadium for playing their part in the win.
“I’m so proud of the players for how they were doing, how they were performing, how the journey went in this competition,” said the German coach.
– ‘A crazy journey’ –
“Also the fans who created an amazing atmosphere, which we never take for granted. Together we can achieve special things and that was tonight. It’s nice to give something back to the supporters.”
The win was even more remarkable given that just three years ago Al Ahli were relegated from the Saudi Pro League.
“It’s been a crazy journey. Not that long ago, it looked completely different,” said Jaissle.
Kawasaki coach Shigetoshi Hasebe conceded that his team had been outplayed.
Having knocked out Al Sadd of Qatar after extra time and then upsetting Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi club Al Nassr, Hasebe admitted his tired Frontale players had been unable to hit the heights again in their third tough match in seven days.
“They deserved to be champions,” said Hasebe of Al Ahli. “They could show their strength, especially in the first half, and we couldn’t. The key was the second goal.
“If we could play as we know we can, we could have won. The last two games were the proof. Tonight it didn’t work and we have to do more in the future.”
Hasebe admitted that Frontale’s defensive frailties had cost them, after they had edged both their quarter-final and semi-final 3-2.
“Every single game we played here, we conceded two goals and that’s the part we have to improve on for the future.”
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