LONDON: Having guided your team to the last eight of the Asian Cup, it must seem strange to find yourself on the defensive. But that is the situation Alberto Zaccheroni, right, faced after leading the UAE to a second-round win over Kyrgyzstan.
The hosts were strongly fancied to see off the Central Asians in their knockout clash in Abu Dhabi, but were taken to extra time and the likely drama of penalties when Ahmed Khalil grabbed the winner in the 103rd minute.
The performance added to the impression that the Whites have made the quarterfinals through luck rather than ability. The team has looked far from impressive during the group stage and anything but possible winners overall.
They now face reigning champions Australia — and even the UAE boss admitted they will have their work cut out unless they improve. “I admit that against (Kyrgyzstan) we seemed to struggle with long ball and crosses, and we also had one or two chances to score and secure the game, but we didn’t convert those opportunities,” the Italian former coach of AC Milan and Juventus said.
“We will try to correct all the things that we believe were less positive between now and the quarterfinals. We now have three days to assess our squad and their injuries before we face a strong Australia team.”
Usually when a team reaches the later stages of a big tournament, players and coaches ignore the performance and pretend all is grand — generally with an emphatic declaration that they will win the title.
Zaccheroni’s post-match reaction was anything but bombastic, however. That is not only a pleasant change but also an appreciation that the UAE have been anything but impressive in their march — in fact, more a slow plod — to the last eight.
This is Kyrgyzstan’s first Asian Cup, and they are far from world-beaters. Playing at home with hopes of lighting the trophy on Feb. 1, the UAE should have easily beaten the Central Asian outfit.
Goals from Mirlan Murzaev and a dramatic late equalizer from substitute Tursunali Rustamov canceled out strikes by Khamis Esmaeel and Ali Mabkhouts. On top of that they hit the bar and the post. It took a controversial Khalil spot-kick to win the match, one that left the Central Asians with a bitter taste in the mouth.
“I don’t want to talk about the referee,” Kyrgyzstan coach Aleksandr Krestinin said.
“We leave the tournament with a lot of regrets — we deserved more. It’s our first Asian Cup, but I’m sure it won’t be our last and we will come back stronger.”
There is a sense the UAE cannot play much worse than they have so far, and the hope will be that they can find a good performance in the quarterfinal against the Socceroos. If they are to shock the reigning champions, they will need Khalil to find his scoring boots again.
“Ahmed Khalil is a very good striker, he is one of the best in Asia,” Zaccheroni said of the 2015 AFC Player of the Year.
“When I took over the UAE team (at the end of 2017), he was injured and had not trained for a long time. He has also been injured many times recently and did not play often for his club.
“Nevertheless, he is a very good player, and I have to say that I rely on him a lot. He does so much for the team.”
UAE boss Alberto Zaccheroni admits performances have been poor ahead of Socceroos clash
UAE boss Alberto Zaccheroni admits performances have been poor ahead of Socceroos clash
- UAE boss still under spotlight despite side reaching lasts-eight, where they will face Australia.
- Hosts struggled to beat Kyrgyzstan in second-round after underwhelming group stage.
San Siro prepares for last dance with Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony
- Friday’s ceremony will likely be the last major international sporting event hosted at a stadium which is so beloved it is nicknamed ‘Football’s La Scala’ after Milan’s historic opera house
- The iconic old ground is on course to be replaced by a shiny new arena after a century of hosting Inter Milan and AC Milan matches
MILAN: One of the world’s most famous stadiums is set for a last hurrah on the international stage with the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics at the San Siro on Friday.
Long considered one of the temples of football, the San Siro will introduce the Milan-Cortina Games to the world with a ceremony featuring an athletes’ parade held in all four “clusters” of a sprawling Olympics being held across a vast area of northern Italy.
But the iconic old ground is on course to be replaced by a shiny new arena after a century of hosting Inter Milan and AC Milan matches.
In September the local government of Italy’s economic capital approved a 197-million-euro ($229.5 million) sale of just over 28 hectares (70 acres) of public land, on which the San Siro sits, to the two clubs.
Inter and AC Milan will abandon the iconic ground once their new stadium is built, the idea being that it be finished in time to host matches at the 2032 European Championship to be jointly held in Italy and Turkiye.
The two Milan clubs — European football royalty now both owned by American investment funds — — are planning the construction of a modern 71,500-capacity stadium to the immediate west of the current San Siro, on an area currently occupied by matchday car parking and a local park.
Once the new ground is constructed, San Siro will be almost entirely demolished to make way for new parkland, office space and entertainment facilities.
The current stadium no longer meets European football governing body UEFA’s requirements to host major events and was denied the 2027 Champions League final.
That means Friday’s ceremony will likely be the last major international sporting event hosted at a stadium which is so beloved it is nicknamed “Football’s La Scala” after Milan’s historic opera house.
Milanese icon
The San Siro was inaugurated with a derby match between Inter and AC Milan on September 19, 1926 and over the years it has hosted World Cup and European Championship matches, as well as dozens of fixtures for the Italian national team.
Initially owned by AC Milan before being bought by the city in the 1930s, with Inter making it their home in 1947, the San Siro has been renovated several times, with the last major works being carried out ahead of the 1990 World Cup.
That restyling, which added a third tier to the stadium, gave the San Siro the futuristic look — with spiralling external columns and a striking red roof — that still catches the eye over three decades later.
The San Siro also doubles up as one of Italy’s premier concert venues, where some of the world’s biggest pop music stars have strutted their stuff since reggae icon Bob Marley became the first in 1980.
From the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, right up to contemporary superstars Beyonce and Taylor Swift, the stadium attracts massive crowds for summertime performances from international hit machines and local favorites like Grammy-winning rock band Maneskin.
The new stadium should it be built as scheduled by the end of 2030, but with a final project a long way from being approved by the city, nothing is certain, especially with local elections coming next year.
Politicians on the local and national stage have repeatedly expressed anger at the idea of knocking down a symbol of Milan and in 2023 succeeded in torpedoing a previous attempt by the clubs to build a new stadium on the same site.
