Manuel Lanzini is hoping to live up to his nickname of the ‘Jewel’ and shine as Al Jazira prepare for their UAE Arabian Gulf Cup game against Al Ain tomorrow.
The two UAE heavyweights clash at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in the competition’s second round, with both the teams in search of a maiden win.
The two teams have already met in the league this season and played out a seven-goal thriller, Montenegrin Mirko Vucinic the executioner as he netted all four Jazira goals.
And the 'Little Gem' says a win against 'the Boss' would be priceless and he is hoping the fans, who have been supportive of him since his summer move, can carry the side to victory in Al Clasico.
“It’s a derby between Al Jazira and Al Ain, and I hope the fans will come to watch and support us as they did before when we beat them 4-3 in the league,” he said.
In addition, the 21-year-old admits that he is flattered to have become a fan favourite in such a short period of time and believes the club's supporters have helped him settle in the UAE capital.
“I receive a lot of comments on Instagram and Twitter, but unfortunately I don’t understand them because they are all in Arabic!” Lanzini laughed.
“I wish I knew what they said so that I could try and reply to each one. But I am very thankful to the fans for their messages.”
Despite his tender age, Lanzini has taken on-board a greater role at the club following their earlier 1-0 cup loss to Al Nasr.
While the ‘Jewel’ has sparkled intermittently for Jazira this season, he is hoping to improve the longer he is in the Middle East and help the team claim silverware at season's end.
“At the beginning it was tricky because of the weather and the language barrier, but now I have adapted and got used to it,” he said.
“I feel very happy with the way I have started the season and the way things are going, and I hope to continue improving and help the team to win titles this season.”
Meanwhile, coach Eric Gerets is hopeful of a repeat of the previous result, and has challenged his defenders to lift their games.
“Hopefully, we can repeat the same result, but not the same scoreline… it would be great to win against them again, but this time to concede fewer goals.”
Al Jazira last won the competition back in 2010, beatin Ajman 2-0.
