Helio Anjos wants to rid his players of an inferiority complex as Saudi Arabia aim to break their Asian Cup hoodoo against Japan in tonight's semi-final clash.
The teams have met on three occasions in the finals with Japan winning every time, including in the finals of both the 1992 and 2000 tournaments.
The final-four clash at the My Dinh Stadium sees the two teams meet once again with a place in Sunday's final in Jakarta at stake.
And Brazilian Anjos is hoping he can cure his side's psychological ills before they step onto the pitch against the three-time winners.
"I have been trying to get it into the heads of the players that all the other results against Japan don't matter and it is up to them to take their chance tomorrow," said Anjos.
"This is our chance to go to the final and we want to take it."
While the Japanese have defeated the Saudis twice in the final, it was their win over the Arab giants in the group phase of the 2000 event in Lebanon that continues to leave the deepest scar.
Philippe Troussier's side put on a football exhibition to condemn the Saudis to a 4-1 thrashing, with Naohiro Takahara - the leading scorer so far at this year's Asian Cup - among the goalscorers.
That defeat cost then coach Milan Macala his job, although the Saudis did progress to the final under Nasser Al Johar - Macala's replacement - but he was powerless to stop Japan reclaiming the title.
However, the Saudis will be buoyed by their win over the Japanese in Jeddah during qualifying, although Anjos is just as concerned about his team's physical condition going into the crucial clash after arriving in Hanoi from Jakarta on Monday evening.
"Tomorrow will be a very big game as both Japan and Saudi Arabia have similar schools of football and they are both powerhouses of Asian football," said the 49-year-old on Tuesday.
"It will be a very interesting game between two strong teams tomorrow but we have had much less rest than Japan.
"They were training when we were doing a 12-hour marathon journey from Jakarta.
"It is a problem that we have had to travel when our opponent has had more time to rest and train but we will not use this as an excuse.
"Our players know exactly what they have to do."
The final-four clash at the My Dinh Stadium sees the two teams meet once again with a place in Sunday's final in Jakarta at stake.
And Brazilian Anjos is hoping he can cure his side's psychological ills before they step onto the pitch against the three-time winners.
"I have been trying to get it into the heads of the players that all the other results against Japan don't matter and it is up to them to take their chance tomorrow," said Anjos.
"This is our chance to go to the final and we want to take it."
While the Japanese have defeated the Saudis twice in the final, it was their win over the Arab giants in the group phase of the 2000 event in Lebanon that continues to leave the deepest scar.
Philippe Troussier's side put on a football exhibition to condemn the Saudis to a 4-1 thrashing, with Naohiro Takahara - the leading scorer so far at this year's Asian Cup - among the goalscorers.
That defeat cost then coach Milan Macala his job, although the Saudis did progress to the final under Nasser Al Johar - Macala's replacement - but he was powerless to stop Japan reclaiming the title.
However, the Saudis will be buoyed by their win over the Japanese in Jeddah during qualifying, although Anjos is just as concerned about his team's physical condition going into the crucial clash after arriving in Hanoi from Jakarta on Monday evening.
"Tomorrow will be a very big game as both Japan and Saudi Arabia have similar schools of football and they are both powerhouses of Asian football," said the 49-year-old on Tuesday.
"It will be a very interesting game between two strong teams tomorrow but we have had much less rest than Japan.
"They were training when we were doing a 12-hour marathon journey from Jakarta.
"It is a problem that we have had to travel when our opponent has had more time to rest and train but we will not use this as an excuse.
"Our players know exactly what they have to do."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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