DUBAI // Ivan Hasek, the Al Ahli coach, believes Al Shabab will be favourites to win the Super Cup tonight - but the man from the Czech Republic says his Red Devils are "hungry" to start the season with a trophy. The game promises to be an exciting affair with a wealth of talent on both sides and exciting new recruits making their debuts. Football fans will get their first glimpse of the Egyptian midfield ace Hosny Abd Rabo.
The 23-year-old Rabo, nicknamed "The Caesar", comes from the Egyptian club El Ismaily. Rabo was a target for some of the top clubs in Europe and earned praise from the likes of Jose Mourinho and the French great Marcel Desailly. Jader Volnei Spindler, the prolific Brazilian striker will also be making his debut here after a Dh30 million move from the Japanese club Gamba Osaka to Al Ahli. On the Al Shabab side, the lanky Zimbabwe international striker Musawengosi Mguni could be making his debut, heading the attack alongside the explosive Salem Saad. All eyes will, however, be on the Al Shahab captain Marcos Assuncao, who was an Ahli player last season. Sparks could fly.
"We know we will be up against a very good side. Al Shabab are the defending League champions and have some great players like Renato and Marcos. They should be one of the favourites for the league title. But the Super Cup is being held for the first time and we are hungry to win it and get our name into the history books." Hasek who took over the reins at Ahli in the middle of the last season and guided the club to their seventh President's Cup title, is happy with the way his team have shaped up in off-season training.
But he had to work without some influential players like Faisal Khalil and Adel Abudulaziz, who were training with the national team. That, Hasek believes, should work to Al Shabab's advantage. "They had the advantage in preparation as the full team was available for training," he says. "Some of our players were away with the national team. So Al Shabab should be the favourites to win the match." The Al Shabab coach Toninho Cerezo played down the tag of favourites. "It doesn't matter what they think about us; we just have to go and play," says the former Brazil international.
arizvi@thenational.ae
