Dubai: Diego Maradona has fired early salvoes in Al Jazira's direction ahead of his competitive Al Wasl coaching debut at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi tonight from 8.30pm, after having ordered closed practice at Zabeel's training ground for the past week.
The Etisalat Cup Group A opener against last season's league and cup double winners is a heightened affair given the rebirth of the rivalry between the two coaches Franky Vercauteren and Diego Maradona. Both joined their respective UAE clubs over the summer. But it takes on added flavour given that Al Jazira ‘spies' have been accused of setting up camp to watch Al Wasl's recent training sessions.
When Belgium played Argentina at the 1982 World Cup, Vercauteren was famously photographed as one of a group of six defenders trying desperately to track back and close down the lone Argentine attacker.
But at a press conference at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel last Sunday, Maradona — in a twist of fortune — sounded like the man on the back foot.
"We will be very careful this Thursday against a team we know a lot about. Al Jazira's team and players are ready and prepared for this match. They have the advantage having played together longer than us but at the same time with our tactics and tricks we can go and hurt them.
"We'll not be totally defensive but we will counter attack or try and play down our own field as much as we can to try and hurt them — in football terms of course," said Maradona.
"Our final line-up will not be known — no person from Al Jazira will be allowed into our training ground because for the past two friendly matches there were people from Al Jazira watching. I'm going to close the doors to the club and we will not allow any fan, manager or person from Al Jazira to go inside."
Maradona was also pre-season, riled by refereeing and the hard style of playing which threatens to injure his star cast, with two red card incidents in his last two friendly games — a 3-1 win over Kalba and a 2-1 loss to Dibba. "I think we play too hard here. I would like to see less tough play and more football. We have to play more football here instead of touching our adversaries — we shouldn't hit other players."
Speaking about a row with opposing coaches and players in pre-season, Maradona added: "I just want everyone to treat me with respect. I am not a violent person but if they want to have an issue with me they will get it. If you try to stick a finger in my eye, I will stick two in yours. I regret this because they will say ‘oh Maradona hasn't changed' its not that I haven't changed, I behave according to what I receive. If you play tough and injure my foreigners I will complain. This is the way I was made, this is how I will die."
