Zlatko Dalic is urging Al Ain fans to rally behind the team in big numbers, claiming their support will be crucial in helping the team reach the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League.
Al Ain host Saudi club Al Ittihad on Tuesday at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in the first leg of the quarter-finals before travelling to Jeddah for the away game seven days later.
The only club to win the Champions League twice in a row when they succeeded Al Ain as the champions in 2004 and then beat the UAE club in the 2005 final to retain the title, Ittihad are one of the most popular clubs in Saudi Arabia, with a large supporter base.
Though no Ittihad fans will be allowed inside the stadium for the match in Jeddah, since the Asian Football Confederation asked that the game be played behind closed doors because of unruly fan behaviour in the past, many are expected to travel to Al Ain to support their team in the first leg on Tuesday.
Dalic hopes the Al Ain fans will come out in even greater numbers to support his team.
“I can assure the fans we have made every possible effort to make sure we get the result that will lead us into the semi-finals of the Champions League,” Dalic told Al Ain’s website. “That is my goal and the goal of my team as well.
“It’s a new challenge for us and I believe my team deserves to be in the semi-finals. But we need strong support from our fans because we are going to face a strong team, who have the same ambitions and have a large fan base as well.
“So it is important that I have great confidence in the support and assistance of the Al Ain fans in order for us to complete our mission.”
Al Ain, the 2003 Asian champions, and Ittihad were in the same group for the preliminary stages of the tournament. The Saudi club won their home tie 2-1 and drew the game in the UAE 1-1.
Al Ain, however, finished ahead of them in the group and then beat their Arabian Gulf League rivals Al Jazira 4-2 on aggregate for a place in the last eight.
Since then, they have been preparing for the clash against Ittihad during the summer off-season. They conducted two training camps in Europe and are now back home, with Dalic putting the finishing touches to his plans.
“We have been preparing for more than 40 days now and things have gone to plan,” said the Croatian, who worked at Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia before moving to Al Ain.
"Now we just need to shift gears and take advantage of the high morale of the players and their eagerness to do well. We have seen remarkable progress in the physical and technical levels of the players in the past month, but we have yet to reach the peak of our readiness.
“So we need to keep working hard over the coming days, with the same passion and seriousness we have shown in the last stages.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
