Abu Dhabi: With his passion and positivity, Henk ten Cate has transformed Al Jazira from a bedraggled outfit to one brimming with optimism ahead of Tuesday’s “do-or-die” Asian Champions League play-off with Al Sadd.
The irrepressible Dutchman has returned the feel-good factor to last season’s Arabian Gulf League runners-up, who lie 11th in the table following a torturous campaign, after replacing Abel Braga as coach six weeks ago.
Buoyed by his first win in charge on Thursday, a 5-1 home drubbing of Dibba, Ten Cate and the club’s January loan signing Kenwyne Jones on Monday delivered pugnacious proclamations of intent ahead of the showdown with the Qatari outfit.
Al Sadd are captained by the former Spain and Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez, but Ten Cate did not appear fazed by the prospect of facing the peerless pass master.
“It’s an important match, it’s do or die,” Ten Cate said, highlighting the fact that the play-off for the ACL group stages is only one game and not a two-legged affair.
“We are going to do our utmost to beat Al Sadd. I don’t care how we do it, whether it’s in normal time or extra time, as long as we go through. I don’t care if we play good or bad, as the only thing that counts is the final result.”
Ramping up the hype further, the former Chelsea and Barcelona assistant coach billed the eagerly awaited clash as “like a competition between the UAE and Qatar”.
“I hope for a lot of support from all over the UAE,” the 61-year-old said. “If a lot of people come to the [Mohammad Bin Zayed] stadium, it will help the players to do even more than they are capable of.”
As for the prospect of facing Xavi, a player he coached at Barcelona between 2003 and 2006, Ten Cate said: “He’s a fantastic player. Of course we have to take notice of him, but it’s not just Xavi.
“They have some other good players. I remember from my time in Qatar [at Umm Salal] the left-back, Nadir Belhadj, who is a fantastic player.”
Al Sadd, who are two-time winners of the ACL and who lie fourth in the Qatar Stars League, beat Al Jazira’s Abu Dhabi rivals Al Wahda at the same stage of the competition last February. They prevailed 5-4 on penalties after a pulsating 4-4 draw in the UAE capital.
Al Jazira, who have never won the tournament, suffered the same fate when they lost 2-1 away to Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor.
Ten Cate used a colourful analogy to dismiss these results’ bearing on Tuesday’s game, saying: “If you open a bank account and want to invest money, the results of the past are no guarantees for the future. The same goes for football.
“Tomorrow is the future.”
Like Ten Cate, Jones, the striker who is on loan from Cardiff City until the end of the season, is relishing Tuesday’s tantalising encounter, which kicks off at 8.15pm.
The 31-year-old, who pointed out that he had played in an even more grandiose occasion when representing Trinidad and Tobago at the 2006 World Cup, said: “I think this match is going to be a very exciting one for Al Jazira. We are going to put our maximum into this game as for us, there’s a beautiful prize at the end.”
Victory will put Al Jazira or the Qatari side in Group C of the ACL alongside Pakhtakor, Al Hilal and Tractorsazi Tabriz.
They and fellow Arabian Gulf League outfit Al Shabab, who face Al Jazira’s conquerors of last year, Bunyodkor, away on Tuesday, would complete a quartet of UAE sides at the group stage if they progress.
Al Ain and Al Nasr automatically qualified for winning the Arabian Gulf League and 2015 President’s Cup respectively.
