Dubai: Zlatko Dalic expects teamwork to see Al Ain through when they meet fellow countrymen Al Ahli in the return leg of their Round-16 AFC Champions League match next week.
The 2003 Asian champions were denied at least three sure scoring chances as the two UAE sides settled for a goalless draw at the Rashid Stadium late on Wednesday.
Happy with the result, Dalic confided that the secret of the team lay in the side operating as a “family”.
“I have told my players that our team is looking like a great team. We have the spirit and the confidence, and the emphasis is always to play like a unit. We are like a family everywhere, be it on the ground or outside the pitch, and therein lies the secret of our success,” Dalic told media late on Wednesday.
“We are a big team and we want to win everything, but we are not a machine. We are human too. Our job is not done. We still have the President’s Cup [against Al Nasr] followed by the return leg of the Champions League,” he added.
Playing without Miroslav Stoch and captain Hilal Saeed seemed to have affected Al Ain to an extent. But Dalic simply refused to lay the blame on the absence of his two main players. “We are champions and we have the experience at playing at this level,” Dalic noted.
“The more important thing for me would be to ensure we uphold UAE football by putting up a display of two champion teams. This is our stage where we must play right and show Asia what UAE football is capable of. Finally, only one of us will be advancing and we need to do so by putting up our best show. We need to send the right signals,” he said.
“If Al Ain wins [the next leg] then we will go all the way and win the trophy. And if Al Ahli beat us next time then they too can go and be champions of Asia. That is the quality of these two teams,” he added.
