Katanec demands compact football from UFL managers

Abu Dhabi: UAE coach Srecko Katanec lashed out at managers within the UAE Football League (UFL) following his side's narrow 1-0 victory over Manchester City, but stopped short of dubbing their training methods as old-fashioned and outdated.

Mohammad Al Shehi converted the ninth minute penalty that was sufficient to hand Katanec's side, comprising mainly youngsters from the UAE U-20 side that reached the quarter-finals of the Fifa Youth World Cup in Egypt, a deserving win over a City outfit devoid of its top stars.

The Slovenian said unlike his "compact" style of play, which is in keeping with modern-day football, managers in the UFL employ a strategy where the playing area is spread out, a step backwards.

"Like this, we must take each game seriously and attempt to play with this kind of organisation. The rules of playing the game have changed completely today. You play a compact game in a field that is spread over 30-35 metres. You stay compact in defence and attack and I focus mainly on achieving that kind of compactness in our game," Katanec said.

"But honestly the football being played in the league here is different, the managers stress on spreading the play out over some 70 metres and then after playing with the clubs my men have to revert back to the compact style, which is played all over the world."

Katanec was happy with his side's performance and said the win was timely as his men prepare for their international friendly tournament involving Iraq, the Czech Republic and Azerbaijan, starting next week.

"Obviously, I'm happy with the win. It's important as I'm the new coach here. I think it was important that we started like this [under me]."