AL AIN // Zlatko Dalic has complained about the lack of time he has had to prepare his full Al Ain squad for Tuesday night’s Asian Champions League quarter-final first leg against Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv.
The Al Ain manager has been training with his core players since only August 13, when the club’s UAE internationals joined following their own preparations for next month’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
Seven players, including the majority of Al Ain’s first-choice defence and the two Abdulrahmans, playmaker Omar and new signing Amer, spent the previous month with the national team at a camp in Spain.
In contrast, Lokomotiv currently lead the Uzbek top flight by five points after 19 rounds and remain unbeaten. The match represents Al Ain’s first competitive fixture since the President’s Cup final on May 29.
Speaking on Monday before the two sides meet at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Dalic said: “You expect me to talk about how happy I am with our preparations, but I’m not happy.
• Comment: Al Ain have chance to salvage underwhelming 2016 with Champions League success
“I’m not satisfied, because I spent just 10 days with my players. That’s not enough to do a serious job. Not enough to prepare a team for a big game like the Asian Champions League. Other coaches look for two months.
“Ten days is not enough to update your computer, so how do you prepare a team for a Champions League game? But I’m always an optimist. I believe in my players, that they can do a great job in the first leg. Our target is win this game and don’t concede a goal.”
Dalic was under similar circumstances in 2014, when Al Ain’s UAE internationals arrived back from a national team camp shortly before their Champions League semi-final first leg with Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal.
Al Ain, Asian champions in 2003 and the only Emirati club to lift the trophy, lost the match at Riyadh 3-0. They were eventually eliminated 4-2 on aggregate.
“I had a very bad experience two years ago that I shall not repeat,” Dalic said. “Again, my players went to the national team for 20 days, then came back two days before our game and we lost 3-0. Because of this experience, one month ago I said ‘please, give me my players. I respect the national team, but give support to Al Ain’. Of course, the national team is No 1, but they have six games in the group stage. We have just two.
“It’s our game first, then the national team. Because of my bad experience, I tried and I tried, but nothing.
“Nobody asked the national team why Al Ain didn’t qualify, everybody asked me about my planning. But OK, we’ll take it and play our best.”
Dalic urged his players to forget about their inadequate preparations and concentrate on reaching the semi-finals, where they could potentially face Dubai’s Al Nasr.
The second leg with Lokomotiv, a club never before contesting the knockout stages, takes place at Tashkent on September 13.
“I don’t want to find any excuse, but it’s true we are not at a high level,” Dalic said. “My feeling is that we did a good job the past 10 days. Tomorrow we will play a good game and from our side it will be a very serious game.
“We must take care about the other team because they have very experienced players. But my players and I have big experience in the Champions League and always do a good job.
“We will do that because it’s an open path to the final.
“It will be a tough game, but we can realise our ambitions.”
[ jmcauley@thenational.ae ]
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
ASIAN RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 2024
Results
Hong Kong 52-5 UAE
South Korea 55-5 Malaysia
Malaysia 6-70 Hong Kong
UAE 36-32 South Korea
Fixtures
Friday, June 21, 7.30pm kick-off: UAE v Malaysia
At The Sevens, Dubai (admission is free).
Saturday: Hong Kong v South Korea
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation 2 to 5
Rating: 5/5
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
Civil War
Director: Alex Garland
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Nick Offerman
Rating: 4/5
'Brazen'
Director:+Monika Mitchell
Starring:+Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
'O'
Author: Zeina Hashem Beck
Pages: 112
Publisher: Penguin Books
Available: Now
Porsche Macan T: The Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 265hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,800-4,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Speed: 0-100kph in 6.2sec
Top speed: 232kph
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
On sale: May or June
Price: From Dh259,900
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Charlie Hunnam
Rating: 2/5
Tomb Raider I–III Remastered
Developer: Aspyr
Publisher: Aspyr
Console: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, PC and Xbox series X/S
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2019 BMW i8 Roadster
Price, base: Dh708,750
Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 374hp (total)
Torque: 570Nm (total)
Fuel economy, combined: 2.0L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
Jebel Ali Dragons 26 Bahrain 23
Dragons
Tries: Hayes, Richards, Cooper
Cons: Love
Pens: Love 3
Bahrain
Tries: Kenny, Crombie, Tantoh
Cons: Phillips
Pens: Phillips 2