Al Ain look to claim fifth Super Cup title

Abu Dhabi - Dalic unhappy with scheduling, but feels show must go on

Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic made his displeasure known regarding the scheduling of the Arabian Gulf Super Cup, saying that "no human being can play in temperatures of 45 degrees."
The defending Arabian Gulf League champions face-off against President's Cup winners Al Nasr in the traditional season-opener of the UAE top flight at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.
The match is scheduled for a 7.40pm kick-off in what is expected to be searing conditions of close to 45 degrees on Saturday night, with the floodlights added to the mix.
Dalic was unhappy that they were far from ideal conditions to play football but felt that the show must go on.
"We are not prepared as we would have like to for the game on Saturday night. But we must respect the schedule and go and play," Dalic said on the eve of the fixture on Friday night. "I would have liked to have more time to prepare for this game, especially since we have new foreign players. Maybe it would have been better to play the Super Cup later. Temperature of 45 degrees is not ideal for humans to play a game. But that's how it is," added the Croatian.
"But it is one game, just 90 minutes for a trophy. It will be great to begin the season with a trophy," he said.
The season opener as well as the Arabian Gulf League has usually begun over the years, in mid-September. But with the UAE National team in the midst of their World Cup qualifying campaign as well as the Gulf Cup in Kuwait, the Arabian Gulf Super Cup as well as the League was scheduled for August.
"We will give everything for this trophy and try and begin the season well. We had good preparations during pre-season and played some strong friendly games. And Saturday will be a big test for my team. The weather will be a factor for both teams. We have to battle with the conditions. It will be same for both," said Dalic.
Al Ain, record League champions for a whopping 12 times, will be aiming for a fifth Super Cup. The Garden City club last won it in 2012 when they beat Al Jazira on penalties. They had lost out to fierce rivals Al Ahli last time out, when it was played in March. Al Ain's previous wins came in 1994, 2002 and 2009.
'The Boss' go in with virtually a new-look foreign contingent in Emmanuel Emenike, Ryan Babel and Fellipe Bastos, with the Asian player Lee Myung Joo, the only one retained. Asamoah Gyan left after four years, while Miroslav Stoch returned to Turkish side Fenerbahce after his loan spell. Jires Kembo-Ekoko is deemed surplus to requirements.
Dalic admitted Gyan's departure was a big loss but was confident that Emmanuel Emenike would fill the void.
"You know what Gyan meant for my team. He had four fantastic years with Al Ain and it was a good partnership. I know Gyan misses the team and we miss him too. But we have to move on and look to the future. Emenike will be a good replacement for Gyan and I hope he can perform on Saturday night. Our new players are getting better but they still need time to play according to the club style," he said. The Garden City Club had lost three friendly fixtures and had drawn one on their pre-season tour. Zlatko Dalic's men had lost by a solitary goal to Uzbekistan club Locomotiv, before being blanked 4-0 by Championship side Hull City. They then went on to lose 2-1 to Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal 2-1 before being held goalless by Qatar's Al Sadd.
Al Ain had defeated Moroccan Botola Pro club Wydad Casablance in the Morocco/UAE Super Cup in Casablanca to round off their pre-season with a win. And Dalic drew positives from that. "We played well in Morocco and we had many positives from it. We will give our best on Saturday night," Dalic said.
The UAE top flight is no more free-to-air on TV and has been encrypted and Dalic felt it was a good move as it will bring more fans into the stadium.
"The last game we played in Morocco there were close to 50,000 fans and it was a good atmosphere. I expect more fans inside the stadium on Saturday night. It is very nice when you play in front of many people. I expect more Al Ain and Al Nasr fans. We play football for the fans and the fans should come to the stadium," he said.
james@khaleejtimes.com