DOHA // Hamdan al Kamali, captain of the Under 19 Asian Championship-winning UAE side, is dreaming of an encore with the senior team at the Asian Championship in Doha.
Al Kamali led the UAE youth team to the title in 2008 in Saudi Arabia and many of his teammates from that side, which later reached the quarter-finals of the 2009 Youth World Cup in Egypt, are part of Srecko Katanec's 23-member squad, which arrived here yesterday afternoon.
"A Million Welcomes the Whites" was emblazoned across the UAE team bus and the players must surely be hoping that, with a bit of support from these million, they can blaze through what seems to be a very strong Group D, which includes the defending champions Iraq, three-time champions Iran and North Korea, which qualified for the 2010 World Cup.
The UAE will start their campaign against North Korea on Tuesday, before meeting Iraq on January 15 and Iran on January 19. The two teams finishing at the top of the group advance to the quarter-finals, and al Kamali has set his sights on achieving that target.
"Football in the UAE is on a high at the moment," said the Al Wahda defender. "It has been a boom time, with success at different age-group competitions at the regional, continental and international level. So our focus will be on keeping these good times going.
"The Asian Cup is an opportunity for the current generation to create a new era in UAE football and we will be trying our best to do that. The strong support we receive from the government and the officials of the UAE Football Association is a huge motivation ... for us to shine and win titles.
"We also know how thirsty the fans are for a title and we will be heading into the Asian Cup with that in mind. We will be banking on their support right through the tournament. Our first goal is to play a good opening match against North Korea and get the right result. That game will be a championship in itself and we must strive hard to come away with a win."
Ali Kasheif, the Al Jazira goalkeeper, is also hoping for a large presence of fans to support the side through their group games.
"It would be great to see fans come from the UAE and stand behind the players and support them through the tournament. We all, the players and staff, are highly motivated and with the fan support we would really be pushing ourselves harder."
Rashid al Zaabi, deputy head of the UAE delegation in Doha, described Qatar as a "second home" and confidently predicted strong support from the locals.
"With their support, I am sure we can achieve our first objective, which is to reach the second round," he said. "At this moment, that is what we are focusing on. We want to go step by step and not make any tall claims or predictions. "We are not going to set any long-term goals for the team, which may not be realised and put the team under unnecessary pressure. We will be rational and focus just on the game ahead, and not look too far."
