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Al Shabab hope they will return to form
Defending UAE league champions Al Shabab hope to return with full three points as they prepare to play away to Al Khaleej in the fifth week of the UAE Football League (UFL) today.
- By Alaric Gomes, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:33 November 5, 2008
Dubai: Defending UAE league champions Al Shabab hope to return with full three points as they prepare to play away to Al Khaleej in the fifth week of the UAE Football League (UFL) today.
"This is a game we have to show a lot of determination to compete and return with full points," Toninho Cerezo told Gulf News during the week.
"Al Khaleej has a good attack, they mark hard and we will be playing away from our ground, and so this is going to be a different game for us."
To make matters worse, Al Shabab will have to put aside their performance last week where they caved in to a 2-0 away defeat at the hands of former champions Al Ain. And though all the odds are stacked against the defending champions, the Brazilian coach is optimistic.
"Yes, it is going to be tough to beat any team on their own ground. We will miss our supporters who have stood by us despite some not so good results. This has encouraged all of us to be even more hungry and give off our best in return," Cerezo said.
Coming in his favour though is the two-week break that he took recently as the other clubs stayed involved in the President's Cup fixtures. "This break gave us some much-needed time to prepare for the next segment of the league," Cerezo said.
"No doubt, we have been under a lot of pressure due to the recent results, but we are confident we can turn the corner and put our campaign back on track."
Cerezo reiterated that he is in the best position to understand what his players are going through as he himself used to be a club player. "I know how it feels to feel the pressure when you have a title to defend. Unfortunately, this year we have less time to train and more of competitions and that gives players less time to recover and be match fit," he said.
Defence: Solid backing
Al Shabab coach Toninho Cerezo has come to the defence of his playmaker Carlos Renato.
"I am happy with Renato and the way he is contributing to the team," Cerezo said reacting to reports that the Brazilian is yet to find form with his new club.
"He was one of the best players when we played Al Ain in the last round. He has a good timing with the passes and he was the one who took the initiative to organise the team on the field during the game," Cerezo said.
"He knew what to do under the given circumstances and that is crucial for a team like us.
Renato was one of the two players - Assuncao was the second one from neighbours Al Ahli - that Cerezo signed for the new season. "I think Renato is playing even better than what he did when he was with Al Nasr. But at the start he wanted to prove to all that he is good, but now after being with the team for nearly three months, he know he need not do anything to prove what he is capable of," Cerezo said.
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