Abu Dhabi: Al Wahda and their newly appointed coach Sami Al Jaber have their task cut out when they take on Qatari side Al Sadd in the AFC Champions League play-offs at the Al Nahyan Stadium on Tuesday. Action starts at 7.10 pm.
Al Wahda were in turmoil after their Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro was sacked recently, having let go a two-goal advantage in the Arabian Gulf League against Emirates and ended up with a draw. Saudi Arabia’s legendary footballer and director of Qatar’s Al Arabi football club, Al Jaber, was an immediate replacement and after three days of training, the 42-yr-old coach was pleased with the intent shown by his players.
“I have been happy with what I have seen so far in training. The players are keen to do well and I have seen that from the last three training sessions,” said Al Jaber, who has been handed a six-month contract.
“No one likes to come in the middle of a season and I took up the challenge because Al Wahda are on a stable level and they can still win the league. It is a challenge but I’m coming into a side which is a big club and with a good set-up. They are very professional and want to go to the highest level,” added Al Jaber.
Winners of the AFC Champions League in 2011, Al Sadd won a remarkable second preliminary round penalty shootout 11-10 against Bahrain’s Riffa to get this far. They qualified for the play-off stage after trouncing Al Sailiya 3-0 in the Emir Cup final and coach Hussain Amotta was upbeat about his team’s chances but felt Wahda would give a good fight.
“There are both positive and negative aspects of every change. Sami is a well-known player from this region and I’m sure Al Wahda will put up a good show under him even though he has been with them for only few days. We are prepared for the challenge,” said Amotta, whose side are currently top of the Qatar Stars League.
Al Sadd has been boosted with the inclusion of Brazilian Grafite, who has long experience of playing here in the Arabian League - having been a part of UAE’s Al Ahli until last season. However, he is nursing an injury and is a doubtful starter.
“Grafite has still not recovered fully but he will take the field for some time for sure,” revealed Amotta, whose team won the Asian Club Championship in 1989 and were crowned the continent’s top club again three years ago.
In another encounter, UAE’s league leaders Al Jazira have a tough match against Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor in an away encounter at Bunyodkor Stadium Tashkent. Bunyodkor, formed in 2005, have reached the knockout stage in all seven of their AFC Champions League appearances since 2008. However, they finished a disappointing fourth in the Uzbek League last season and lost to Lokomotiv in the Uzbek Cup final.
Al Jazira finished third in the UAE Pro League in 2014 to earn a chance to qualify for the AFC Champions League Group Stage for a seventh consecutive time through the Play-offs. The capital club made it to the last 16 in 2014 but their chances were dashed by arch rivals Al Ain 4-2 on aggregate.
