One of the members of Al Ain’s Asian Champions League-winning 2003 side has backed Al Ahli to become only the second UAE team to win the competition.
Midfielder Helal Saeed was part of the team that created history when they triumphed 2-1 on aggregate against BEC Tero Sasana of Thailand in the two-legged clash in October 2013.
Saeed, 38, who is still playing for Al Ain, said he was optimistic that Ahli can get the better of Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande.
The first leg is at Dubai on Saturday at the Rashid Stadium, and the second leg takes place in China on November 21.
“I think that the Al Ahli team is capable of achieving their dream,” he said. “They have reached the final, and I hope they return back with the title from China just like we did for Al Ain when we returned home with the trophy from Thailand.
“I have great confidence in Al Ahli and their players for the Champions League final. They will show their true mettle and I wish them luck for this great challenge.”
Ahli’s run to the final has allowed Saeed to reflect on Al Ain’s own success when they created footballing history in the Emirates.
They had little trouble getting to the last four as they won their group with a perfect record, but the semi-final had proved a tougher affair as it took Farhad Majidi’s goal three minutes from time to earn them a 7-6 aggregate win over Chinese side Dalian Shide.
Saeed said the team were pushed on by a surge of belief that they were on the verge of something big.
“We were very motivated. We knew we had an exceptional team. The fans supported us all the way through and we knew we could achieve something special,” he recalled.
“It brought happiness to the city of Al Ain and all the Emiratis in the country.”
Al Ain had home advantage for the first leg of the final at the Sheikh Tahnoon Stadium, and they made full use of Salem Johar’s long-range effort and Mohammed Omar getting on the end of a Faisal Ali centre to give them a 2-0 victory.
This is where Omar delivered his famous salute after his goal to the watching UAE royal family, which included Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, proving to be one of the country’s most iconic sporting moments.
Eight days later the second leg was at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.
A penalty 30 minutes from the end halved Al Ain’s advantage, but they held on to win the tie.
“The reason for our strong performances with Al Ain was hard work,” Saeed said.
“Yes, you need talent and a bit of luck, but without hard work you have no chance.”
While Saeed is wishing Ahli all the best, he hopes it is Al Ain who will be challenging in the latter stages of the 2016 tournament if they can keep improving.
The Arabian Gulf League champions are setting the pace again this season.
“The current generation of our team has a lot of players who have similar qualities like the generation in 2003,” Saeed said. “They have the potential, but the difference between good and great is in the smallest of details,and that embodies the concept of a great team.”
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