Two days after alluding to a conspiracy and claiming Qatar would have already been at the World Cup if he had still been in charge, Carlos Queiroz went on a charm offensive ahead of Oman’s meeting with the UAE.
The 72-year-old Portuguese manager has coached all three of the sides at the World Cup Qualifier play-off in Doha at various points in his storied career - and with varying degrees of happiness.
At the start of this very World Cup qualifying cycle, he was placed in charge of Qatar, only to be sacked before finding his stride.
As such, the battling draw his new side, Oman, put up against the hosts in the first game in Al Sadd on Wednesday night was a source of much satisfaction for him.
In the aftermath, he was quick to point out the benefits that favour Qatar in this play-off, such as home advantage, as well as double the recovery time the other two sides have between matches.
When turning his attention to Oman’s next task, though, against the UAE, Queiroz’s hard edges noticeably softened.
He spoke warmly of the time in the late 1990s when he coached in the Emirates, a prelude to the time he spent as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Manchester United, and then later the plum job at Real Madrid.
He said it was a “privilege and honour” to coach the UAE, and he is proud of his record of 10 wins, seven draws and two losses in his 19 games in that job.
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UAE players train ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Oman at the Jassim Bin Hamed Stadium in Doha, Qatar. All images Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Khalid Essa trains at the Jassim Bin Hamed Stadium -
Erik trains with the UAE team for the World Cup qualifier on Saturday -
UAE head coach Cosmin Olaroiu oversees training -
The UAE prepare to take on Oman on Saturday -
Yahia Nader trains at the Jassim Bin Hamed Stadium -
Majed Hassan during training in Doha
He was also fulsome in his praise of the present incumbent, Cosmin Olaroiu, and pointed out the UAE have an enviable squad of players.
All of which felt like a cunning ruse to heap more pressure on a UAE side who are perfectly aware of what is at stake in the play-off in Doha. Namely, a place at the World Cup.
“In this game, it is everything to win and nothing to lose,” Queiroz said.
“For Oman, we don't have anything to lose in this game. Absolutely nothing. Obviously, we have everything to win because all the responsibilities and duties are on top of the favourite team of this tournament.
“The favourite team is, without any doubt in my opinion, UAE. They have a great coach, brilliant players. They assemble one international star team, that could be all-star Fifa team representing UAE.
“So all the responsibilities are on top of them, not on Oman. But we also have a great team, a strong team.”
Queiroz was thrilled with the spirit his side showed in their opening day draw against Qatar. “When we do it together, when the Red Warriors start to move on the pitch, it is a different story,” he said.
“This kind of game, there is no advantage for anybody because the pressure, it is there. It's much higher on top of UAE players than us.”
Oman made do with less than a third of the possession in their game against Qatar. Queiroz, who has coached nine different national teams in four separate continents, acknowledged the same could feasibly happen against the UAE, but is confident his side can cope.
“The way I see football, I don't see football as attacking or defending,” Queiroz said.
“After all these years, for me football is the art of winning. Football is the heart of winning, because winning is the only medicine that works in football.
“If the music in the game is rock and roll, I cannot put my own dance inside. If the music in the game is a waltz, I cannot put my players dancing with rock and roll.
“You have to dance according to the game that is in front of you. And if my players have to defend 89 minutes to win the game in one minute, that’s the art of winning. That’s football.
“Because tomorrow, you don't care about the performance, you care about the result. This is what is written in the books.”
The coach said Oman have researched their opposition, but he wants them to focus on themselves.
“Some people try to make this game very intellectual, very complicated,” Queiroz said.
“I always believed since I started playing at nine years old – and my father was a footballer – this is a simple game.
“Before [the game] you can design everything, tactics and all that stuff. But when the game starts, you start to adjust, and everything can change in just one minute.
“We know UAE, we study them, of course, but to forget the most important thing in the game, which is us, is a big mistake.
“We are not really too much focused in UAE, too much focused on Qatar. My main focus is to be sure that our players are mentally ready, tactically ready for what they have to do on the pitch.
“But believe me, this game is much simpler than sometimes you believe. Don't complicate it, don't make it intellectual, don't make it scientific. Keep the game as it is and you will enjoy the game for more than a thousand years.”
