Dubai: Rodolfo Arruabarrena is expecting a positive response from his Al Wasl players as they prepare for their last match of the season in Thursday’s final of the 2018 President’s Cup against Al Ain at the Zayed Sports City.
“This is no ordinary match. It is a final and it is perhaps the most important match of the season for us,” Arruabarrena said at the pre-match conference on Wednesday.
“We have worked hard to be where we are today, and I think we all expect some sort of pay-off at the end of the final so that we can sign off our season in style. I believe I will have all my players giving more than 100 per cent to achieve this goal.”
One of the things on Arruabarrena’s mind will be to break the unbeaten streak of Al Ain, who kicked off their Golden Jubilee celebrations this year with the Arabian Gulf League crown last week.
“I am not the one expecting any small measure from my players,” the Argentine coach said. “One of the things is to take the ball and attack as this is one way to catch them on the wrong foot. They [Al Ain] have a direct approach, an attacking style of football that they love. Our aim is to stick to our style of play and give them as little time as possible in playing possession football.
“They have scored several goals this season, so one of the most important things will be to stick to positional play and remain disciplined in attack and defence. We know their strengths and you can be sure we will find ways to probe their weaknesses and catch them off-guard.”
The two teams last met in the President’s Cup final way back in 2007, with The Cheetahs coming up with a resounding 4-1 thrashing of The Boss.
“Al Wasl is about teamwork and unity,” Arruabarrena, the 42-year-old former Argentina national team and Villareal defender, said.
“When I came here first, many told me that players here don’t like to train twice a day. Today, I can honestly tell you that my experience for the past two years has been just the opposite as we have players who are hungry to learn all the time. They have shown the hunger and they want to end the season with a trophy. And, I believe they can.”
