According to reports, Patrick Kisnorbo, head coach of Yokohama F. Marinos, believes there are significant differences between Saudi clubs and other East Asian teams. His comments came after a 4-1 defeat against Al-Nassr in the AFC Champions League quarter-finals.

Al-Nassr advanced to the semi-finals with this victory and now awaits the winner of the match between Kawasaki Frontale (Japan) and Al-Sadd (Qatar).

Kisnorbo stated in the post-match press conference: “There are clear technical and tactical differences, which stem from financial investments that are vastly different in Saudi Arabia compared to Japan and other East Asian clubs.”

He added: “Al-Nassr closely resembles Premier League teams. The same applies to other Saudi clubs—teams that undoubtedly belong to Asia’s elite due to the top-tier players they possess.”

Kisnorbo continued: “We started the match well, but after the first goal, the momentum shifted. We could have prevented the next three goals, as they resulted from simple and avoidable mistakes.”

In conclusion, he said: “Our goal in the second half was to correct our course, but the early fourth goal dashed our hopes. Overall, this result was disappointing for us.”