Dubai: Al Wasl will take on German football giants Hamburger SV at the Zabeel Stadium today. Hamburger, who picked Dubai to hold their training camp, is expected to provide Al Wasl an unforgettable experience and exposure.
Speaking on the eve of the match, Mohammad Omar, the captain of the Al Wasl team said: "It will be a stunning experience for our team. The experience of playing against such a strong team like Hamburger will help us improve our position in the local football league."
Al Wasl coach Jose Farias echoed the opinion. "It is a good opportunity for our players to play against the hugely reputed Hamburger players. It will help our players to improve technically and every one will get to know more about football."
Remain active
The gates will open at 6pm and entrance fees are waved. The objective of such a match is also to keep the Bundesliga league internationally active during the winter break and the invitation has been forwarded by Dubai Sports Channel, who is Bundesliga league's television partner.
Though the match is a friendly one, the action will be telecast worldwide. "Since our channel is free to air we are expecting the match to be viewed in 23 countries with over 150 million viewers," said Abdul Bader Zitouni, Head of Content of the Dubai Sports Channel.
Dubai Sports General Manager Rashid Amiri, who has played a role in organising the match, said: "This match is a gift to the football fans in the whole Arabic world. It is clash between the two prestigious teams and we will organise more such matches in the future."
Hamburger coach Armin Veh considers the conditions ideal for pre-season training. "It is lovely to be playing a match within two days of starting our camp. It is not going to be an easy game but this match will be a great preparation for the second half of our season."
Tour agreement
Al Wasl Club and Hamburger SV made a reciprocal tour agreement yesterday.
Ashraf Ahmad Mohammad, the Chief Executive Officer of the Al Wasl Club, said: "It is a great opportunity for our club to not only play against Hamburger but also provide them with all facilities to train at our club. We had discussions with Hamburger team for our club to tour Germany during our summer and experience all their facilities."
Mohammad believes that his club will be able to improve all aspects of the game. "Hamburger is one of the best teams in Germany and a regular interaction with them will help our players a lot."
Mohammad held talks with the Hamburger manager Bernd Wehmeyer. Interestingly, Wehmeyer too expressed a keen interest in having Al Wasl come to Germany for training. "We can not only exchange tours but also exchange coaches and the team can also come there and see how our youth development programmes are in progress. It will be a great experience," said Wehmeyer.
