Al Ahli, Al Ain rev up engine in Europe

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Al Ahli's Rodrigo Lima Santos in action during the match against Inter Milan U21 team.

Abu Dhabi - Top UAE football teams have started off their overseas preparatory campaign

By Ashwani Kumar

Published: Wed 27 Jul 2016, 6:16 PM

Last updated: Fri 5 Aug 2016, 11:51 AM

Top UAE football teams have started off their overseas preparatory campaign with friendly matches against European teams.
Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ahli won their opening match against Inter Milan U21 by two goals on Tuesday in Italy. Moussa Sow and Rodrigo Lima Santos scored for the Dubai club. Cosmin Olaroiu & Co will be in Italy for two weeks and later head to Germany for next phase of training.
Meanwhile, Garden City club Al Ain lost their friendly to Udinese Calcio 3-0 in Austria.
Despite the loss against Udinese, Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic said he was happy with the 'powerful experience'. The Croatian is looking to achieve greater cohesion between his players.
According to tweets by Al Ain FC, Dalic is eagerly looking forward to the missing players joining the camp from August 1. Eight Al Ain players are attending the national team camp in Spain.
"They are very important to our preparations for Asian Championship preparations," he said. "Challenges ahead are big and the delay is not in the best interest of the team," he added.
Al Ain defender Mohammed Fayez said 'the Boss' are now a strong contender with UAE midfielder Amer Abdulrahman and Japanese League star Caio Fernandes joining the ranks.
He said Al Ain are fully focused on achieving Continental glory.
Al Ain will play Lokomotiv Tashkent in the AFC Champions League quarters at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on August 23 and head to Uzbekistan for the return leg on September 13.
It's not just Al Ain but another club from the UAE - Al Nasr too is in fray for the continental glory. The Blues have completed their domestic training and are set to train in Poland.
Head coach Ivan Jovanovic is heading to Poland with a 27-member squad. They will play four friendlies against top European teams.
In the AFC Champions League knockout stages, Al Nasr will travel to Qatar on August 24 for the first leg match against El Jaish and will host the second leg in Dubai on September 14.
In another development, Al Wahda FC's latest purchase Tiago Alves Sales landed in Dubai on Tuesday. He will undergo medical test and will join the training camp in Barcelona.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com