Al Ahli target history tomorrow when they take on Al Ain in the President’s Cup final attempting to become the first team to complete a domestic treble.
The Red Knights finally lifted the Arabian Gulf League trophy last Sunday, having already beaten Al Jazira last month to capture the Arabian Gulf Cup.
Ahli kicked off the season by snatching the Super Cup, UAE football’s curtain-raiser, from Al Ain, who now stand in the way between them and a clean sweep of the country’s domestic trophies.
Victory would also see the Red Knights successfully defend the President’s Cup title they won against Al Shabab 12 months ago, replicating what the club achieved in 1977 and 1978.
Ahli assistant coach Fabio Cannavaro insists the players, who won the league at a canter, have not taken their eye off the ball just yet and still have one more push left to make as the season draws to a close when they take on Al Ain.
“It’s the last step. We know it will be very difficult because Al Ain is a tough team with very good players. We want to win because we want to make history. It will be very tough,” he said.
“We know the value of Al Ain. We need to prepare the team with a lot of concentration because they have very good players.
“They have the best scorer for the league, (Asamoah) Gyan, they have the best local player (Omar Abdulrahman). They have too many important players.”
Ahli can draw some confidence from the fact that they have already beaten Al Ain in three encounters this season, with their Super Cup success being followed by a 1-0 win in Dubai and 3-2 triumph in the Garden City.
But both coach Cosmin Olaroiu and Cannavaro agree that those victories have no bearing on tomorrow’s final.
“Al Ain is a very big team, you can’t think that you beat them before,” said Olaroiu of the club he coached to back-to-back league
titles in 2012 and 2013.
“They’re always getting better and better.”
Cannavaro added: “The final is the final. You start the game with a 50-50 chance. It will be tough for us but also tough for them.”
