BEIRUT (Lebanon): Six months ago defender Hussein Dakik helped seven-time Lebanon league champions Al Ahed after win their maiden AFC Cup title last November.
Dakik featured in nine of Ahed’s matches in their run to the final of the 2019 AFC Cup, where they defeated DPR Korea’s 4.25 SC 1-0 to lift their first ever continental title.
Speaking exclusively to the-AFC.com, Dakik said Al Ahed had to fight hard to lift the coveted trophy at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium in the Malaysian capital on the night of November 4, 2019.
“It was a difficult tournament from the opening match until the final,” said the 31-year-old left-back.
“The best memory that I have is when Issah Yakubu scored the winning goal in the final,” said Dakik of the goal the Ghanaian forward netted in the 74th minute against 4.25 SC.
Dakik, who started his football career at Shabab Al Sahel before moving to Al Ahed in 2009, revealed the main elements that helped Al Ahed win the title after failing at the knockout stage the previous two years.
“We had great fighting spirit,” explained Dakik. “All the players had great motivation from the first match against Qadsia SC until the final.”
“All the players were motivated to become the first Lebanese club to win the AFC Cup title,” he added. “There was great understanding between the defenders, midfielders and our goalkeeper.
“We didn’t concede a lot of goals because of this while we also had a great goalkeeper who helped us win the title,” said Dakik of Mahdi Khalil.
Khalil joined Iran’s Zobahan after his heroics in the 2019 AFC Cup which saw him concede only three goals in 11 matches.
