DUBAI // With the Arabian Gulf League title confirmed, Al Ahli must now focus on adding the President's Cup, according to captain Ahmed Khalil.
The Dubai club sealed a seventh top-flight crown on Thursday, when second-placed Al Ain were defeated by Fujairah, meaning Ahli were guaranteed the trophy with two rounds to spare.
Ahli, who lead the table by an insurmountable seven points, have only one league match remaining – the home tie with Al Shaab on May 8 – before switching attention to the quarter-finals of the President’s Cup. On May 13, they again face Shaab for a place in the last four.
Khalil, part of the Ahli side defeated by Al Nasr on penalties in last year’s cup final, says the club are determined to make up for that disappointment.
“For sure, everybody wants the President’s Cup and we now have the chance,” he said. “We have to work, because now everybody thinks about the President’s Cup.
“We have achieved our first target, which was to take the league and that was important for us. We fought throughout this year and wanted to make sure we won the title. But there is another target we have to fight for and have to work towards, and that’s the President’s Cup. Hopefully we’ll fight for this because we all want to win it.”
Al Ahli’s second UAE championship in three seasons came on the back of last year’s late run to the Asian Champions League final. The club contested the knockout stages for the first time in their history, but were eventually beaten in the November showpiece by China’s Guangzhou Evergrande.
Khalil said Ahli’s ability to balance both domestic and continental campaigns should be applauded, while he also praised coach Cosmin Olaroiu for guiding his side through the arduous dual assignment.
“For me, the important thing this year was we played very well, when we had so much pressure to deal with from the first game because we also played in the Asian Champions League,” Khalil said. “But thankfully we continued on our path to take the league and we have to continue again. There is another target, we have to continue.
“For me, if you want something you have to fight, you have to work more towards what you want. And Cosmin and his staff worked a lot with the team, they help the players, they help the team and this is important for us. Now we have to do what the coach says and hopefully we will achieve the next target, winning the President’s Cup.”
Lifting another trophy would crown a hugely successful few months personally for Khalil, who in November became the first Emirati to be named Asian player of the year. He has been handed the captain’s armband with Ahli and the UAE national team, too, underlining his recent rapid rise.
However, Khalil says the individual accolades will serve only as more motivation to improve next season.
“The important thing for me is I have to work, work hard every day, every hour, every minute,” he said. “This is important if I want to bring out my best. I like football the most, I like every time to do my best and for me it never stops.
“Hopefully every year I want to take everything, achieve new things.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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