DUBAI // Bruno Metsu, the Al Wasl coach, cut a relaxed figure last night as he prepared to embark on a new period in the club's history.
Given the man he replaced at the Zabeel Stadium was Diego Maradona, the Frenchman would have been forgiven for exuding a certain sense of trepidation.
His squad has been rapidly reshaped with the summer signings of their foreign players Mahmoud Abdel Razek Shikabala, Lucas Neill and Emiliano Alfaro, and time honing tactics has been compressed into two manic months.
Ahead of Sunday’s Pro League season opener against Al Wahda, though, Metsu is taking everything in his stride, fielding any queries about pressure with an insouciant shrug and an easy smile.
“I have been a coach for many, many years, I am not a young coach,” he said. “You have to live with pressure in this job, it’s normal. If you have no pressure it’s bad so I prefer to work with it than without it.
“Without it you have no motivation. But there is no special pressure because I come here this season. I simply want to give my maximum, help Al Wasl not just play good football, but win games.
“I’m a professional and winning is my only priority. So pressure is good for me, for my staff and for the players. We need only to control it.”
It has been 10 years since Metsu first managed in region, when he joined Al Ain, now the league champions, and guided them to the Asian Champions League crown. Various outposts across the region have brought intermittent success, although Metsu remains reticent in setting targets, publicly at least, for his new club.
Wasl finished eighth last season following Maradona’s wildly erratic reign, yet an astute recruitment drive has raised expectations.
Metsu, meanwhile, is doing his best to dampen them. “At the beginning all the teams are on the same level; we all start from zero points,” he said. “Of course, all clubs want to win but in the end there will be only one.
“All I would say is that maybe Al Ain and Al Jazira are on a higher level than the rest. They have the financial power to reinforce their teams and build strong squads.
“It is too early to judge my team, but I’ll have a better idea of where we’re going and what our objectives are after four or five games.
“I only hope the club and I have made the right choice in bringing those players on board. At the end of the day it’s about what happens on the field, not about how much we talk here. We will try to do our best and the aim is to win, always.”
Metsu praised Neill, the Australia national team captain who spent last season at Jazira, for his leadership qualities and said the veteran centre-back can help plug a defence that conceded 40 league goals during the 2011/12 campaign.
The 58 year old also expects a strong contribution from Alfaro, the Uruguayan striker who excelled in his homeland before his career stalled at the Italian side Lazio.
“He scored on Tuesday in the Etisalat Cup and did very well,” Metsu said. “He was able to get a goal and that’s what we expect from our strikers.
“Lucas Neill was brought in to have an impact both on and off the pitch. There was a clear defensive problem last year, so he will reinforce the back line and become a leader within the team.
“Myself and the technical staff are very happy with the three new foreign recruits. They have given the team confidence.”
Metsu confirmed Majed Naser, the goalkeeper, will return next month following suspension for two high-profile acts of ill-discipline last season – the club initially requested the Football Association set the ban at one year.
“For me, Majed is the best in the UAE and one of the best in the GCC,” Metsu said. “He has great qualities, but sometimes he fights too much.
"You need to know goalkeepers, when they concede a lot of goals they get agitated. You need to help Majed, to understand him; not to fight him. It's important because Al Wasl need him."
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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