Football: Al Nasr can glean lessons from playing Hamburg: Petrescu

Dubai - Nasr and SV Hamburg will face off in a one-off game in the Cup, at the Al Maktoum Stadium on Monday night

The inaugural Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Challenge Cup is just the start before it turns into something even bigger.
For now though, only two teams - hosts Al Nasr and Bundesliga club SV Hamburg will face off in a one-off game in the Cup, at the Al Maktoum Stadium on Monday night.
And Al Nasr coach Dan Petrescu felt that his players can glean a few lessons from taking on a European club. "Of course, it is a very opportunity for our club. We are in a good moment now after a very nice win in the President's Cup and I'm sure everybody is enthusiastic to play this match," Petrescu said at the Al Maktoum Stadium on Sunday evening.
"It is always good to play against experienced teams, especially from Europe and in Germany we know that all the players will treat every match as an official match. I'm sure they will play very serious and I'm sure they want to prove to their coach. I'm 100 percent sure that my players will learn something from this game because it is going to be very tough," he added.
Al Nasr are on a high, on the back of a top notch win over Al Ain in the quarterfinal of the President's Cup.
The Blue Wave and Hamburg do have some kind of a connection with their attacking midfielder Jonathan Pitroipa having played for the German club for three seasons, from 2008 to 2011.
But Pitroipa won't be there to face his former employers as he is away at the African Cup of Nations with Burkina Faso.
Petrescu was a touch cautious and hoped that he doesn't end up with injuries from the game.
"I hope it will be a good game and for me, the most important thing is that we don't have injuries. We don't have too many players available and I don't want injuries," said the Romanian.
Meanwhile, striker Jires Kembo-Ekoko echoed his coach by saying that the players could learn a thing or two from such a fixture.
"It is a very good opportunity for us. Hamburg are a very good team and they play different football. I think this game will be positive for the players because it is totally different football and we can learn a lot from this game," said Kembo-Ekoko.
The Congolese, formerly with Al Ain, has considerable experience of European football, having paraded his wares for French club Rennes from 2006 to 2012.
And he had a simple message for his teammates ahead of the game. "Just enjoy and to learn," he said.
james@khaleejtimes.com