AL AIN // Omar Abdulrahman has described the second leg of the Asian Champions League final as “the game of my life” as the Al Ain captain looks to lead the club to a second continental crown.
The UAE side, champions in 2003, go into Saturday’s match against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2-1 down from last week’s initial meeting in Jeonju, when the South Koreans rebounded from Danilo Asprilla’s second-half goal to take a slim advantage to the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
Al Ain are attempting to emulate their 2003 predecessors, the only team from the Emirates to be crowned continental champions, after they overcame Thailand’s BEC Tero Sasana across two legs. The Garden City club have not contested a final since their 2005 defeat to Saudi Arabia side Al Ittihad, meaning the match against Jeonbuk represents their most important fixture in more than a decade.
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Abdulrahman, widely expected to be named Asia’s player of the year at the Asian Football Confederation’s awards ceremony next week in Abu Dhabi, said he fully recognises the magnitude of Saturday’s clash.
“This is the game of my life, especially because it’s played in the city of Al Ain and at our own stadium,” Abdulrahman said. “The loss of the first match wasn’t so bad, the team played very well, scored first then conceded two goals, but the result could be taken as a positive.
“Now we will fight and we will do everything we can to win and make sure we don’t make as many mistakes in order to please everyone: the fans, the sheikhs and all the people of the UAE.”
Abdulrahman, 25, has won every domestic title with Al Ain, including three league titles and two President’s Cup crowns, and he understands the Champions League remains the one trophy the club crave most.
However, he insisted the weight of expectation, and the opportunity to end a 13-year wait, will not burden the players as they aim to write themselves into the Al Ain record books.
“Of course, everyone remembers history and all the big names that played for the team in 2003,” Abdulrahman said. “We want to be part of this history, we want to achieve glory and we will fight and do our best to win tomorrow’s match and the final.
“We don’t want to put any pressure on us. Of course, we feel this possibility, we all share the same goal, but everybody is in happy in the team, everybody is training perfectly. We are very optimistic that we can achieve the title.”
Unlike namesake Amer Abdulrahman, who is likely to start on the bench against Jeonbuk, Abdulrahman declared himself fully fit for the second leg having overcome a minor back injury. He was perhaps not at his best in last week’s first encounter between the teams, when Jeonbuk right-back Choi Chul-soon was tasked with shadowing the Al Ain playmaker throughout.
Abdulrahman still found enough space to tee up Asprilla for an away goal, though, a strike that could yet prove decisive come full-time on Saturday.
Asked about dealing with being man-marked again in the second leg, Abdulrahman said: “That is correct, but I was still able to create some chances and I was able to assist our only goal. I’m expecting the same tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll have the performance and the ability to deal with them.”
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