Walter Zenga will take charge of his first game as Al Jazira coach today and the Italian admits he is wary of one player he knows well from their time at Al Nasr together.
Zenga, who left Al Nasr at the end of last season after two-and-a-half years in charge, was appointed manager of the Abu Dhabi club on Friday, replacing Luis Milla after the Spaniard endured an inconsistent eight months at the helm.
First up for the Italian is a 'home' tie against Dubai Club, hosted at Al Wahda's Al Nahyan Stadium due to the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium being in use for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
And while Jazira are favourites to collect all three points to get their new boss off to a winning start, Zenga has warned his players of the danger Dubai will pose, particularly striker Bruno Cesar.
Bruno was signed by Zenga in the summer of 2012 and went on to enjoy a stellar debut season in UAE football, scoring 16 league goals. The arrival of Brett Holman and Ibrahima Toure forced Bruno out of the Maktoum Stadium and the Brazilian has found a new home at Dubai.
He is yet to hit the goal-scoring heights of last-season having notched a solitary league goal, but Zenga will ensure his players will not take the striker or his teammates lightly.
“It’s important for us to win this game, but if we think we are going to win the game because we are Al Jazira and they are Dubai then you can be 200 per cent sure we are not going to win," Zenga said.
“Dubai have some good players. One of them I know very well is Bruno Cesar who was the top goal-scorer with Al Nasr last season. They also have a very good complementary striker (Dramane Traore) for him.
“They are a very aggressive team. They play in the right way. Of course they have some weak points, but I know them well because I saw them play live. I know their strategy; how to put them under pressure and I know what style we need to play to keep the game in our hands.”
A 1-1 draw with Dhafra last week was the final nail in Milla's coffin sacked and Zenga inherits a team eight points adrift of leaders Al Ahli. Hauling them in is already a big ask, and Zenga is just taking things one game at a time.
“There are 20 games left and 60 points,” he added. “We have time but in my opinion we don’t have to think about the future, we have to concentrate on what we must do today and in our next match against Dubai.
“I would like all the players in my team to take responsibility. Players shouldn’t wait for things to happen but they should make things happen themselves.
“I have to prepare my players in the right way and then they have to make the decisions during the game and do them, without being scared, because everybody makes mistakes.
“It’s not important that you make a mistake, it’s important that you resolve the problem that you create. Solutions are important all the time.
“The important thing is the players. How they approach the game. How they can change into a winning team.
“I have confidence in my players and I know they can play one great game and then they can start to be a good team from the next game.”
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