#360view: Al Clasico to test Eric Gerets' tactical nous

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  • Al Jazira boss Eric Gerets.

    Al Jazira will cross their fingers and hope that a season’s worth of defensive sins do not come home to roost during tonight’s titanic ‘Al Clasico’ meeting with Al Ain.

    The great rivals have inhabited the top two league places for much of the running, Eric Gerets’ men finally being overtaken by the Boss last weekend courtesy of victory against Fujairah. Rarely has as much been at stake for the Arabian Gulf League’s glamour derby.

    Al Ain have methodically ticked off the matches after beginning the campaign with two in reserve because of their run to the 2014 AFC Champions league semi-finals.

    In contrast, second-placed Jazira have taken a much more flamboyant path to this evening’s clash at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.

    A defining decision awaits Gerets. If his suspect rearguard is skewered by an attack featuring the fearsome Asamoah Gyan and Omar Abdulrahman, a six-point gap opens up with only eight games to play.

    With it would surely go the only true title fight experienced in the top flight since it turned professional in 2008-09. But conversely, can his forward-thinking side even play it safe?

     

    Inhibiting them may backfire.

    Fuelled by the relentless goalscoring of Mirko Vucinic and Ali Mabkhout, this Pride of Abu Dhabi collective will long be remembered for their entertainment value.

    A division-high 46 strikes have been registered along the way, the aforementioned duo contributing 31 between them.

    They were at their deadliest in October’s previous clash, Vucinic putting in one of the finest striking displays ever seen in UAE football. His quadruple proved the difference between the sides in a jaw-dropping 4-3 meeting, the Montenegro international exhibiting the pedigree that saw him lift three Serie A titles in a row at Juventus prior to his summer move.

    Gerets went for broke at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium and got his reward. What will be preying on his mind is the fact such an approach bore fruit against opponents denied the talents of Gyan and Omar Abdulrahman, because of suspension and injury.

    Will the same tactics work this time?

    Iron-clad Al Ain boast the meanest defence in the division, with only 14 conceded. You have to go all the way down to Fujairah in 10th to find a side who has let in more than Jazira’s 30.

    The winter addition of veteran defender Basheer Saeed from Al Ahli has elicited improved communication, yet the calamities remain just as apparent. This is a weakness the clinical Al Ain will surely prey upon.

    With the reintroduction of Gyan and Omar Abdulrahman, Zlatko Dalic’s squad have also worked overtime to reduce the scoring levels between the challengers. Only one goal now separates them.

    This has led to a cavernous gap opening up in goal difference of 15 in favour of the Boss. Extrapolated over a season, there appears only one title winner.

    To buck this trend, Gerets must choose whether to tackle his glaring defensive problem in the hope of a temporary fix or maintain the cavalier approach that has taken them this far.

    The Belgium legend, recruited by Jazira last summer, is richly remunerated after glorious spells at Qatar’s Lekhwiya and Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal.

    He’ll need to use all his acumen to engineer the right result and the outcome of whichever route he chooses will have repercussions for months to come.

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