Football: UAE dream rests on Al Ain, Al Nasr

abu dhabi - Both teams likely to clash in semis of Asian Champions League

The UAE may witness a dream semifinal clash if both Al Ain FC and Al Nasr Sports Club edge their opponents in the AFC Champions League quarters.
The quarterfinal draw held in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday has given wings to such hopes.
Al Ain were drawn against Uzbekistan powerhouse Lokomotiv Tashkent and Al Nasr got paired opposite Qatar's El Jaish for the last eight battle. If both the Emirates' pride possessions manage to sneak through, a cracker of a semis awaits their followers.
Asian Football Confederation director of competitions division Shin Man Gil conducted the draw for the West zone and picked Al Ain first, thereby giving the first leg to the Garden City club. Al Ain will play Lokomotiv Tashkent at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on August 23 and head to Uzbekistan for the return leg on September 13.
In the second set of the draw, El Jaish were drawn first and will host Al Nasr on August 24. The Blues will then play the Qatari side in the return leg on September 14.
Al Nasr are making their third appearance in the tournament and it is for the first time they are in the quarters.
Al Ain are the only side from the UAE to win the AFC Champions League. And with their tactician Zlatko Dalic back in the saddle, Al Ain will be eyeing nothing but continental glory.
Though they face Lokomotiv, who have remained unbeaten in the group stages, Dalic and Al Ain should be battle ready. Al Ain lost the President's Cup to Al Jazira despite being the better team on the day and will hope with new recruits they can right the wrongs.
And 'the Boss' have started their homework.
According to series of tweets on the Al Ain FC account, they are engaged in 'serious negotiations' with various clubs to strengthen their trophy hunt. Dalic has made special reports on new foreign players, those he believes can realise the club dreams.
According to team supervisor Mohammed Obeid Hammad, Al Ain will attend a training camp in Austria from July 23 to August 14.
They will be playing four friendlies, including Qatari team Al Sadd, Bundesliga club Ingolstadt 04 and a Saudi Arabian side.
As part of the preparations for the next season and Champions League quarters, Al Ain are following the 'preparatory schedules set by Dalic', the tweet said.
The Garden City club are banking on the mass support of their fans during the home matches of the Champions League at the iconic Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
Al Ain's intent is very clear, a tweet by Hammad said: "At this stage of the Champions League, there are no easy or difficult teams. However, we would have preferred to face a team from the Gulf."
That might be an apparent reference to the Qatari side El Jaish, who got the better of Al Ain during the group stages.
"This is a historic opportunity to grab the title that we had won in the first edition back in 2003," Hammad added. And Al Ain have made all the right moves so far. With Dalic in charge, Al Ain have their swagger back.
Al Ain and Al Nasr have a long road ahead before they can fix the September 27 semis date.
Meanwhile, in the East zone draw, China's Shanghai SIPG were paired against South Korea's Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and in the last draw, FC Seoul were picked to face Shandong Luneng FC.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com