Manager Abel Braga insists floundering Al Jazira will show no fear when they head to a rampant Al Ahli side on Monday night.
– UAE: Ahmed Khalil named AFC Player of the Year
– UDINESE: Time to compete with Serie A’s giants
– SHARE, RATE, WIN: Sport360 ValoraFutbol
– Follow: Live footballs scores around the world
The meeting at Rashid Stadium had been expected to pit Arabian Gulf League title challengers against each other. But while the second-placed hosts have won a perfect six from six matches and narrowly lost the AFC Champions League final to China’s Guangzhou Evergrande, the hotly-tipped Pride of Abu Dhabi sit down in 10th after failing to gain a top-flight triumph since September 18.
“I know Jazira still needs more time to acquire the characteristics of a team able to compete,” said Braga, who has endured a miserable return to the capital after excelling from 2008-11.
“The previous results were not satisfactory. But even with all this, we will not by any means go to Dubai and face Al Ahli in a way that is purely defensive for fear of losing.”
Ahli were last term’s domestic crisis club, a miserable title defence ending in seventh. But they have been revitalised this term on the back of a historic run in the ACL and the summer addiiton of striker Lima, whose double in Thursday’s 2-1 triumph against Al Shabab put him onto 16 goals in 16 games.
Boss Cosmin Olaroiu was aware their continental success had put a target on his team’s back, and believes Jazira will be motivated to not only end their miserable run but also claim the potentially confidence boosting scalp of the Red Knights.
He said: “The problem for me is that every time I analyse an opponent, I get the wrong image. If you see all the games when teams play Ahli, they play 200 per cent from their possibilities. They are more motivated and fight more.
Congratulations to Al Ahli & UAE striker Ahmed Khalil – AFC Asian Player of the Year 2015 pic.twitter.com/lioPM8bF01
— Arabian Gulf League (@AGLeague) November 29, 2015
“That’s why I expect Jazira not to be Jazira that you see in the games before, but to be a different team, very aggressive, very motivated. My work and my fight is to put in the head of the players that, what they see until now, will be different in our game.
“Jazira are a big club. Of course, changing players is not easy to remain in the same level, but they’ll be very motivated and this can compensate for the problems they have. That’s why it’s our job to treat and judge Jazira on what we expect them to be, not what they are now.”
In Monday’s early kick-off, managerless Al Shaab host Al Shabab with Walter Zenga still understood to be the man poised to take over the AGL’s bottom club.
Zenga strenuously denied last week he was ready to take over following his dismissal from Sampdoria and Tarek Al Ashry leaving earlier this month, however it is understood the Italian remains the frontrunner for the job.
