Al Ain start title defence Now, Sow linked to Al Ain

Al Ain - Braga begins his second stint as Al Jazira coach with match against Al Wasl

 The season has just begun but Al Ain already have two trophies in the bag, at the time of asking.
'The Boss' won the Friendship Cup defeating Moroccan Botola Pro club Wydad Casablanca during their pre-season camp before putting Al Nasr under the sword in the season-opening Arabian Gulf Super Cup.
And now, the Garden City Club embark on a possible third and a record 13th when they open their Arabian Gulf League title defence against Al Dhafrah at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain on Friday night.
Coach Zlatko Dalic said that winning twin trophies had motivated his players and added that they were looking to start the League positively. "We have won two trophies already and that has helped in motivating the players. But the League represents a new challenge and this season will be even stronger and competitive as most of the clubs have invested in some good foreign players," Dalic said ahead of the game.
"It is good to start the League and we hope that we can get the three points at home. We have gained a lot of confidence from the last two games (against Wydad Casablanca and Al Nasr). It will not be easy against Al Dhafrah as any team can win on the night. They have signed some good foreign players too and they also have Makhete Diop, who can be dangerous," he added.
Dalic also said that playing against the champions will spur Al Dhafrah to do even better. "Al Dhafrah have a fluent playing style and will come at us harder since we are the defending champions. We have to be on guard but also focus on our style of play," the Croatian said.
The last time the two teams met in the League, Al Ain had fought back from a goal down to hold the Western Knights to a 1-1 draw, in March. Al Ain had won the home leg 3-1 last October.
Meanwhile, Abel Braga begins his second stint as Al Jazira coach with a tough home fixture against Al Wasl at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.
Braga, who guided the Pride of Abu Dhabi to a Cup double in 2011, was aware of Al Jazira's defensive frailties and urged the backline to tighten up. Al Jazira finished runners-up to champions Al Ain last season. They were prolific upfront with their frontline plundering 66 goals, four more than the Al Ain, but they conceded a whopping 46.
"I had a chat with the players about the goals conceded last season. I'm clearly not happy about that and we need to improve our defence. We scored more goals than Al Ain but ended up without the title. We need to tighten up," Braga said.
james@khaleejtimes.com