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Al Jazira and Al Ain meet in derby without the star cast

Abu Dhabi - The 62-year-old Braga, who guided the Pride of Abu Dhabi to a Cup double in 2011, began his second reign with a loss against Al Wasl in their opening game of the Arabian Gulf League. And a win on the night is paramount if he is to keep the critics at bay.

 The international break couldn't have come at an even worse time for Abel Braga. The Brazilian didn't quite enjoy a happy return on his second stint in the Al Jazira hot seat and it has become all the more difficult with the coach missing nine of his players on international duty.
Al Jazira take on Al Ain in the Capital derby without the star cast in the Arabian Gulf Cup and Braga will have to call upon his bench strength to the job at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Friday night. Nine players are away with the UAE senior team and the Olympic team.
The 62-year-old Braga, who guided the Pride of Abu Dhabi to a Cup double in 2011, began his second reign with a loss against Al Wasl in their opening game of the Arabian Gulf League. And a win on the night is paramount if he is to keep the critics at bay.
"This Arabian Gulf Cup is an important competition for us. We hope to make a good start and try and go all the way until the end," Braga said ahead of the game.
"If the UAE National and Olympic team players were available, I would have played them against Al Ain. But they are on international duty and I respect that. We will have nine important players missing but we have a strong and talented squad and I have the solutions to deal with these absences," he added.
Braga termed the derby as "special" and was expecting an exciting contest on the morrow.
"The derby match against Al Ain is always special and important. They are the League champions and they have very good players, especially in the midfield, like (Ibrahim) Diaky and (Fellipe) Bastos. I am expecting a great match against them and I hope the victory and the three points will be ours," said Braga, who helped Al Jazira win their only League title in 2011.
He also had a message to the Al Jazira fans and asked them to not lose hope despite a bad start to the season.
"The first thing I always think about is the history and prestige of this club. And the players are sharing the same responsibility with me and they are determined and motivated enough to fight for this shirt. Of course, we will always need our fans to be with us, and am sure they will be there at the Stadium on Friday night," he said.
Meanwhile, Al Ain too have the same issues to contend with, with 'The Boss' missing 12 players on international duty. And coach Zlatko Dalic said it was a good opportunity for the bench to prove their worth.
"We are missing a lot of players on international duty. But it also means that it is an opportunity for the players on the bench to step up and show a good performance," said Dalic.
And the Croatian reckoned it will be a difficult game though both sides will be missing some of their important players. "It will not be an easy game. Al Jazira lost their first game in the League and will be looking for a win. But we are hoping for a good start and some strong results in the Cup, apart from the League," the 48-year-old said.
james@khaleejtimes.com