ABU DHABI // The quality of the Pro League and its defending champions will be tested tonight when Al Wahda play host to the elite Saudi Arabia side Al Ittihad in their Asian Champions League match Al Nahyan Stadium.
"We have a very difficult task ahead because we're going to play Ittihad of Jeddah and this is one of the best teams in Asia," said Josef Hickersberger, Wahda's coach.
Ittihad lead the ACL Group C on six points, which includes an away victory at Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan. Wahda are second in the group on two points from draws at home to Bunyodkor and away to Persepolis.
No Pro League side has advanced out of their ACL group since 2007. Last year, all four UAE clubs, including Wahda, finished last in their group, and league officials are keen to see UAE clubs show they can be competitive on a continental stage.
"It's an important game for us," Hickersberger said. "If we want to finish first we have to win the game.
"From my point of view, we have to go for the second spot in our group because Ittihad is better than the rest."
Ittihad twice have won the continental championship, in 2004 and 2005, and are eight-time champions of the Saudi league, with five of those championships coming since the turn of the century.
Asked to pinpoint the key players in the Saudi side, Hamdan al Kamali, the Wahda defender, said: "They play as a team, so the key players are from every position on the field."
Hickersberger said he would field his strongest line-up after holding out several players in a defeat away to Al Ain in the Pro League last week.
Five players, including Hugo, the Brazilian midfielder, stayed on the sidelines because they carried two yellow cards, and a third caution would leave them ineligible to face Al Jazira in the President's Cup final Monday at Zayed Sports City Stadium.
"This is a different competition," Hickersberger said. "I do not care about yellow cards in this competition because all players can play in the cup against Jazira.
"All I have to do is pick the best starting 11.
"No one should think about the cup final. It's on the 11th and that's time enough to recover from the Asian Champions League. I have enough players in my squad to find a good team."
Toni, Ittihad's Portuguese coach, said he was most concerned about the Wahda forwards Fernando Baiano and Ismail Matar, who between them have accounted for 15 league goals.
"We are in a very hard group," Toni said. "It will be a hard and tough game, but we expect a good result."
Ittihad will be without the Saudi national Mohammed Noor, a midfielder and the side's captain, who is out with an injury.
"They will miss Mohammed Noor," Hickersberger said.
"He is a loss for Ittihad because he's the heart of everything. It's difficult to knock him off the ball and he's a good passer as well."
However, he added that the Saudi side will not be lacking for attacking players.
"They have a lot of quality going forward.
"They have up front the Algerian Abdulmalek Ziaya, an excellent player who is fast and very skilful, very good in the air, and on the sides that have good, quick players who can attack on the wings.
"We will have to defend with a lot of concentration. We have to defend very well. Especially, we have to close down the wings. … It will be not easy to prevent them from scoring, but if we can do that we have excellent chances going forward."
Paulo Jorge, a midfielder from Portugal, is one of the wingers who worries Hickersberger. Wahda were in the same group with Ittihad a year ago, and lost 4-0 away and 2-0 at Al Nahyan Stadium.
The top two sides in each four-club group advance to knockout stage on May 24, with the winners getting a home game and the runners-up travelling.
"Finishing first in the group is important to us because we want to play at home in the next round," Toni said.
The clubs meet again, in the Red Sea port of Jeddah, on April 20.
Ittihad FC are Saudi Arabia's oldest club, having been formed in 1929. They finished second in the Saudi Premier League last season.
