Al Nasr ready to face Al Ain test

Abu Dhabi - President's Cup champions Al Nasr take on Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ain in the season-opening Arabian Gulf Super Cup at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.

Al Nasr coach Ivan Jovanovic too echoed his opposite number at Al Ain Zlatko Dalic in saying that it was far from ideal conditions to play football but said that they were looking forward to kick off the season.
President's Cup champions Al Nasr, also winners of the Arabian Gulf Cup last term, take on Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ain in the season-opening Arabian Gulf Super Cup at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Saturday night.
The Blue Wave are eyeing a third Super Cup and end a 20-year wait. The last time Al Nasr won it was in 1995. They were the inaugural winners of the Super Cup back in 1989. "It is good to start the season after two months. As a team we are happy to have played the last game of the season - the President's Cup. And now we are happy to begin the season with the first game which is the Super Cup," Jovanovic said ahead of the fixture on Friday night.
"We will play against the best team of the league last season. I hope we can make a good game to the start the season. I hope we have a good game and the fans who come to watch the game, can enjoy the game. Of course, the day and the time of the game is tough but we have no choice. We have to adapt. It is the same for both teams," he added.
Al Nasr played the last game of season gone by, where they beat Al Ahli to land the President's Cup after a wait of 26 years.
Both the clubs have had a summer overhaul in terms of personnel and Jovanovic felt it would be an interesting game. "Both teams have some new faces and some exciting talent. It will be an interesting game. But don't forget that the players also need to adapt to the conditions. They need time. Of course it is not easy for them. The timing of the game is difficult. But it is always a good game for them to show what they are capable of," said Jovanovic.
Al Nasr have brought in former Brazilian international Nilmar from Internacional, Jonathan Pitroipa from Al Jazira and Luis Antonio Jimenez from Al Ahli to join the retained Renan Garcia.
Jovanovic said he was satisfied with how their pre-season camp went about but felt his new players still needed time to adapt. Nilmar and Pitroipa were late signings and didn't have enough time with the squad during pre-season. "We worked now for five weeks for the start of the season. Personally, I'm very satisfied with my players on how they fared at the camp. But then after five weeks of pre-season, it is not easy for the players to get going because there is a big difference between friendlies and the games in the League. They are not yet at the level we would like them to be.
"We also had some problems with some foreign players coming and taking part in training. Also, Nilmar and Pitroipa had only 10 or 12 days with us. But they are good players and they trained hard and I'm confident they will fit into the role given to them," he said.
Striker Ibrahima Toure had gone AWOL and failed to report for the pre-season training camp for the second successive season. That forced Al Nasr to replace the Senegalese with Nilmar.