DUBAI // Jires Kembo Ekoko says Al Nasr must believe they can get a result at his former club El Jaish in the Asian Champions League on Wednesday, or else there is no reason to be there.
The Dubai club, contesting the continental competition’s knockout stages for the first time, face the Qatari Stars League side in Doha in the first leg of their quarter-final tie. The return match takes place at Al Maktoum Stadium on September 14.
Nasr have a mixed record away from home thus far in this Champions League campaign, taking four points from a possible nine to finish second in Group A and then losing 3-1 at Iran’s Tractor Sazi in the second leg of their last-16 tie.
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Kembo Ekoko knows the task awaiting Nasr this week more than most, since he spent the 2013/14 season on loan at El Jaish from Al Ain. However, he is convinced his current side, who have only recently returned from a training camp in Europe, have the ability to depart the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium with a positive result.
“Of course, we have to go there with confidence, because if you go into the match without confidence it’s better you stay home,” the Frenchman said. “This period is good, we are working hard every day to be ready.
“The Champions League is always difficult, no game is the same. That’s why we must go there with the same fight as we showed last season and show our power on this day.”
Kembo Ekoko enjoyed his time at El Jaish, a spell in which he scored six goals in 22 league matches to help the club finish runner-up to Lekhwiya in the race for the Qatari title. He has remained in contact with former colleagues and says that, unsurprisingly, the communication has increased ever since the quarter-final draw was made in June.
“It was a really good time for me,” he said. “I still have some friends there and we’re still talking. I knew we’d play against El Jaish because some players always call me and send me messages. But I have good memories from there.”
Nasr have recruited well this summer in their bid for domestic and continental glory. The club have brought in former Al Jazira playmaker Abdelaziz Barrada from Marseille, prolific striker Wanderley from Sharjah and Emiratis Fawaz Awana and Mubarak Saeed, from Baniyas and Emirates club respectively.
The signings have raised expectations at Nasr for this season, as the club seek to progress in the Champions League and win a first league title in 30 years. Last season, they finished fourth in the Arabian Gulf League.
Asked about Barrada and Wanderley, Kembo Ekoko said: “Both of them are really good players and they will help us a lot this season. We have a lot of targets, but the most important is El Jaish. We must be ready for the first game in the Champions League.”
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