The AFC Champions League final match against Saudi giants, Kawasaki striker coach is not afraid of the funding gap: he doesn t need a wallet to play football

In the early morning of May 4, the AFC Champions League Classic final will kick off at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Facing the star-studded opponent Jeddah Nationals, Kawasaki forward coach Shirohi Hasegawa was disdainful of the huge financial gap between the team and the Saudi giants. In the semi-finals, their upset victory over Riyadh led by Ronaldo really increased their confidence in winning the championship.

Although the Jeddah national lineup is worth as high as US$200 million and has a number of world-class stars such as Mahrez and Firmino, Hasegawa Mori said that the sky-high transfer fees and salary paid by Saudi clubs will become meaningless after the game begins: "The budget is important, but the players do not play football with wallets or credit cards. They fight real guns on the green field. Money factors certainly have an impact, but football has to rely on their feet."

Although the Kawasaki striker is the four-time champion in the J League, his annual salary (about US$59 million) is only one-third of the annual salary of the Jeddah Nationals. However, compared with the West Asian team, which is worth several levels higher and has a few levels higher, the competitiveness of Kawasaki striker is not inferior. They have never broken through the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League before, first eliminated Qatar's THAAD through overtime, and then defeated the same star-studded Riyadh in the semi-finals.

Shiroki Hasegawa said that the Jeddah nationals will inevitably have a home advantage, but referring to about 300 Kawasaki fans who traveled to Jeddah for a 16-hour long distance to Jeddah to watch the semi-finals, and it is expected that more fans of their own side will come to the scene to assist in the final. Hasegawa Shiroi is also looking forward to receiving support from other Saudi fans: "We are all healthy and have no major injuries. Fans of Jeddah nationals will be present, but fans of teams such as Riyadh Crescent and Riyadh Victory will also come to watch the game. Not all Saudis will support them, and we must not forget the Japanese fans who came here specially. These support will be our support."