Hossam el-Badry hails 'great achievements' despite defeat

Mohamed Aboutrika misses a chance against Monterrey Al-Ahly boss Hossam el-Badry has praised his players for their 'great achievements' during the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup. Ahly lost 2-0 to Mexican champions Monterrey in the third-place playoff match on Sunday , missing out on the bronze medal in Japan. After the match, el-Badry only had positive words for his players. He told reporters: "Ahly's players should be proud for being among the best four clubs in the World. Our bad luck during Monterrey's clash was the main reason for the loss. We wasted many goal scoring chances which would have been enough to give us a comfortable win. I think we were unlucky during this game."
In the final, Cortinthians' victory over Chelsea meant that Ahly were eliminated at the semi-final stage by the eventual winners. El-Badry cited the suspension of the Egyptian Premier League due to February's Port Said disaster as an incident which gives their achievements more credence. "Winning the Champions League and finishing fourth four in the Club World club are great achievements, given the difficult circumstances which hit Egyptian football this year. I want to thank the players for their efforts, they produced excellent performances this year and deserve to be congratulated," he added.
Ahly striker Mohamed Aboutrika failed to become the Club World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer, missing a number of chances against Monterrey. The 34-year old remains on four goals, level with Lionel Messi and Brazilian forward Denilson.