Haikal calls for full focus on Arabian Gulf Cup final

Dubai: Defender Abdul Aziz Haikal is confident Al Ahli won’t allow negativity to creep into their play in Saturday’s Arabian Gulf Cup final against his former club Al Shabab.

The Red Knights take on neighbours and arch-rivals Al Shabab in the final of the annual competition with kick-off set for 7.20pm at Al Nasr Club’s Al Maktoum Stadium on Saturday.

As many as nine players figured in Mahdi Ali’s squad that fell 2-0 on successive instances against Japan and Australia in their bid to qualify for next year’s Fifa World Cup in Russia.

With all nine players re-joining training under coach Cosmin Olaroiu at Nad Al Sheba late on Thursday, Haikal insisted there would be no negative spill-over among the other members.

“The past is the past and we are aware that we need to focus from the start. What happened in Al Ain [2-0 loss against Japan] and our loss against Australia is something that we all need to collectively forget before joining training [later on Thursday],” Haikal told Gulf News.

“Al Ahli is in the final and we need to set our focus on winning another trophy. Preparations with the national team are different under a different coach and staff, while things are different with the club set-up. All of us, especially those joining the team after Australia, now need to focus on the job at hand, and that is to go all out and win the Arabian Gulf Cup,” the 26-year-old insisted.

Ironically, Haikal began his footballing career at Al Shabab. Much of his youth was spent with The Hawks till neighbours Al Ahli obtained his signature in 2011, the same year Haikal made his debut with the senior UAE national team, with whom he has made 27 appearances scoring five goals till date.

Haikal was a member of the UAE side that qualified and played at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Al Ahli is the only club that has won the Arabian Gulf Cup final tournament twice — and Haikal ended on the winning side on both occasions — the first in 2012 defeating Al Shabab 5-3 on penalties after being tied 1-1 at full-time, and the second time in 2014 with a 2-1 result against Al Jazira.

“Once again the past really doesn’t count for anyone. Right now it is all about going out there and winning a trophy for our sake and for our fans,” Haikal said.

“We are a team and our aim at this moment is to win this Cup. No doubt, Al Shabab have just returned from a training camp and friendly match in Qatar, and they may be better prepared than us. But this should not be an excuse as we need to put our efforts together and fight for the trophy,” he added.

Defending champions of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL), Al Ahli have already won their first trophy for the current season with a 2-1 win over Al Jazira in the one-off season-opening Arabian Gulf Super Cup held in Cairo. Since then, the Red Knights have been gamely chasing leaders Al Jazira in an attempt to bag a record fourth title since the league turned professional in 2008.

“I agree that ideally we should have had more time with the team to get prepared for an important match such as the Cup final. But the time-table has been set and we need to now prepare for this game and understand tactics that the coach [Olaroiu] has put in place for us,” he added.