LONDON: Juan Carlos Garrido has called on Al-Ain to show some fighting spirit when they face Al-Hilal in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday.
The UAE club face the Saudi Arabian giants at home in their Group C opener knowing how important it is to get off to a good start. Having only been in the Al-Ain hot seat for two weeks Garrido is aware that all eyes will be on him in his first “big” match as coach of “the Boss” and wants his players to prove they have the backbone to battle hard against their Saudi rivals.
“It is a very special game. The AFC Champions League with two big clubs,” the Spaniard said.
“These are the kind of games everyone wants to be part of, be they a fan, a coach or a player. The motivation is always high for these matches.
“We need 11 fighters, that is the important thing for this match. The fighting spirit is more important than tactics, than techniques, than the formation. The big thing is we need 11 fighters on the pitch against Al-Hilal, that is what our history and our fans demand of us.
“That is what I try to do all my life and that is what our players need to focus on when they face Al-Hilal.”
It has not been an easy introduction to life as Al-Ain coach for Garrido. Defeat in the side’s last league game — a 2-0 defeat to Shabab Al-Ahli — did little to suggest they can beat Al-Hilal. The performance was lifeless and left them eight points behind table-topping Sharjah in the UAE Pro-League.
As if that was not enough they face an Al-Hilal side for whom the AFC Champions League is the main focus. Without a continental title since 2000 the Riyadh club have splashed the cash in a bid to end that drought. They boast ex-France striker Bafetimbi Gomis and former Italy international Sebastian Giovinco, and have lost just once in 22 Saudi Pro League matches this season. The side have also not been affected by the recent change in the dugout with the sacked Jorge Jesus replaced by Zoran Mamic. Mamic has allowed Al-Hilal to play a more attacking game and, to add spice to tonight’s encounter, was poached from Al-Ain.
Garrido, however, does not think that will have too much of a bearing on the result.
“The coach knows the players and they know him so it is important our players do a good job and if we all work together we can get the three points,” Garrido said.
“I have been in charge for two games so far and after each one of course I sit down and come up with concussions of how to improve the team. But this is very different. It is a different competition, it is a top competition and I am 100 percent sure that the players will play with passion and commitment.”
Al-Ain told to show ‘fight’ against Saudi giants Al-Hilal in AFC Champions League opener
Al-Ain told to show ‘fight’ against Saudi giants Al-Hilal in AFC Champions League opener
- New boss Garrido calls on side to show passion in huge clash against Riyadh giants.
- Al-Ain to come face-to-face with former boss Zoran Mamic who left UAE side to coach Al-Hilal last month.
Trump said Iran ‘welcome to compete’ in World Cup, says Infantino
US President Donald Trump has said that Iran is “welcome” to participate at the upcoming World Cup in North America, despite the ongoing Middle East war, FIFA chief Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday.
The war, triggered by US-Israeli strikes on February 28, has thrown into doubt Iran’s participation at this summer’s men’s football World Cup, jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
During a meeting to discuss preparations for the competition, “we also spoke about the current situation in Iran,” Infantino, the head of world football’s governing body, wrote on Instagram.
“During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” he wrote.
The comments marked the first time that Infantino, who in December created a FIFA peace prize and awarded it to Trump, has acknowledged the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Trump’s remarks to Infantino are a stark contrast to his comments to Politico last week.
Trump told Politico: “I really don’t care” if Iran play at the World Cup.
FIFA’s president has grown close to Trump since he returned to the White House, even attending his inauguration.
Asylum claims
Iran’s federation football chief on Tuesday cast doubt on his team’s participation in the sporting extravaganza, following the defection of several women footballers from the Islamic republic during the Asian Cup in Australia.
“If the World Cup is like this, who in their right mind would send their national team to a place like this?” Mehdi Taj asked on Iranian state television.
While the event is spread out across three countries, Iran are scheduled to play all three group games in the United States, two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
Should Iran withdraw from the sport’s quadrennial showpiece, it would be the first time a country did that since France and India pulled out of the 1950 finals in Brazil.
On Tuesday, at the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, some players from Iran’s team claimed asylum after they came under fire from state television for not singing the country’s national anthem before one match.
Five players, including captain Zahra Ghanbari, slipped away from the team hotel under the cover of darkness to claim sanctuary from Australian officials, the Australian government announced.
At least two more team members applied to stay later in the day, according to local media.
However, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Wednesday that one of them had subsequently changed her mind.
Burke said in parliament on Wednesday that he had since been advised that one of the group “had spoken to some of the team mates that left and changed their mind.”
“She had been advised by her team mates and encouraged to contact the Iranian embassy,” he said.
“As a result of that, it meant the Iranian embassy now knew the location of where everybody was.”
The remaining players have been moved from a safe house to another location, he said.
