Abu Dhabi: Defending Champions Al Jazira’s coach Henk ten Cate has warned his players against taking any match lightly as they start their campaign in the Arabian Gulf League against Ajman on Friday at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium. The action starts at 5.40pm.
“Being the defending champions, all the teams will double their effort while playing against us and will try to grab any points possible. So we will have to be at the top of our game in every match,” said ten Cate, who also asserted that it was important to start on a high and set the tone for the rest of the season.
“The match against Ajman is very important for us because the start affects the team for the rest of the season. So it is important to have a positive start in the league. Our preparations have been good and I have a great bunch of players.
“The biggest challenge for me and my coaching staff will be to keep everyone upbeat — especially those who don’t make the side always,” said ten Cate, who has beefed up his arsenal for the defence with some big signings, including French mid-fielder Lassana Diarra, who has played with many European heavyweights including Real Madrid.
Ten Cate is of the view that another challenge in front of him is to make the most of the resources at his disposal. He said he will be picking players based on their form and not due to their status.
“There are a lot of young players like Khalfan Mubarak and Mohammad Gamal, who have played key roles last season when they were tossed up with the challenge. There were times when only one foreign player — Moubarak Boussofa — played in the squad. So every player will have to fight it out,” said Ten Cate, who went on to add that all the players in his squad have the desire to do well and that makes the competition in the squad healthy.
For the outing against Ajman, Al Jazira will be missing the services of Ahmad Al Attas, Mohammad Fawzi and Mohammad Ali Ayed, the new defender from Al Shabab.
“Al Attas and Fawzi are injured and Ali Ayed still needs more work in training to be at his best physical condition. Rest I have the full squad to choose from for the match against Ajman,” revealed ten Cate, who rated his opponents Ajman as tough competitors with a squad that can stun any team on a given day.
“Ajman is a good team, they have great players and they are disciplined. I watched their match in the Arabian Gulf Cup and I have taken a measure of their strength and weaknesses. It is going to be a good contest,” said ten Cate.
Meanwhile, Al Ain, after seeing their AFC Champions League semi-finals hope crash following their 3-0 loss against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal will be looking for redemption when they start their local league campaign against Al Wasl on Saturday.
Coach Zoran Mamic’s tactics had come under a lot of criticism following the Hilal clash and he will have plenty to prove in the local scene. Brazilian forwards Caio, Douglas and the new comer Marcus Berg from Sweden struggled and they will have to improve on their striking prowess for Al Ain to fancy any chances of taking a shot at the top spot. Having been pitted straightaway with formidable outfits Al Wasl, it will be interesting to see how they go about their business; especially at a time when they are coming into the contest at the back of a morale shattering loss.
Another capital outfit who will be looking for a solid start in the AGL will be Al Wahda when they meet Dibba. The former gave evidence of shaping well under new coach Laurentiu Reghecampf in their 1-1 draw against rebranded Club Shabab Al Ahli Dubai in the Arabian Gulf Cup last week.
They were very effective in their formations and more importantly, their long-serving star veteran Ismail Matar and Argentine striker Sebastian Tagliabue looked in good form.
