Silver sights for Red Knights

Al Ahli won the season-opening Super Cup, and will be hoping for more celebrations.

Al Ahli have made a great start to their season with the Super Cup win over league champions Al Shabab on Sunday night. That victory is sure to raise the pressure of expectations on the Red Knights as the first ever Pro League begins. But coach Ivan Hasek is as calm as ever. "We are Al Ahli and pressure is normal for us," says the 45-year-old Czech, who captained his national side at the 1990 World Cup, where the UAE made their only presence on the global stage. "We want to win everything.

"We know that the other sides will now be looking out for us, but playing against Al Ahli has always been a big motivation for every team." Hasek took over the reins at a faltering Al Ahli in December last year and has already brought them two trophies: the President's Cup last season and the Super Cup on Sunday. They made a brave bid for the league title as well, but three draws towards the end scuppered their chances.

The four-time league champions, who were formed in 1970 as a result of a merger of three clubs, had also got off to a poor start last season, winning just one game from their first six. This season, they start their League campaign tomorrow with a visit to Al Nasr, the venue of their Super Cup triumph, and a good start will be essential. "Start or finish is not important," says Hasek. "We have to take every game as a final. We have to make sure we are in a good position after very game - and a good position for Al Ahli is the top of the league.

"All of us will be working hard for that. We will give off our best. We want to finish this season at the top of the league. The motivation is high in the side and the team ethics are right up there." Al Ahli have made a couple of big-name additions to the squad in their attempt to reclaim the trophy they last won in 2006 after 26 years of waiting. They have signed Egyptian midfield player Hosny Abd Rabo, who was the player of the tournament at the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

Rabo, 23, nicknamed The Caesar, arrives from the Egyptian club El Ismaily, picking Al Ahli over some European clubs. Jader Volnei Spindler "Bare", the Brazilian striker, made a Dh30 million move from the Japanese club Gamba Osaka to Al Ahli. The 26-year-old player has scored 30 goals in 49 appearances for Osaka and he gave glimpses of his awesome skills during the Super Cup win. "Our players [the foreign pros], I think, showed their quality in the Super Cup," says Hasek. "They played for the team and that is very important. But they can play a lot better and I am sure you will see that as the season progresses.

"Hosny has a lot of quality and it can only improve us as a team, while Bare is a team player to the core, not someone who is after individual glory. "But in football, we cannot talk about just one or two players. We don't differentiate between the foreign professionals and the local players. We are a team and I cannot just look at the performances of the three foreigners. They are part of the team and I don't see them differently. Clubs who work together, show the right spirit and team ethics will win championships."

Hasek has worked hard on the side during the off-season training camp in Austria and England. They also took on the might of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in friendies and the coach was impressed with the performance of the Red Devils. "We had a good off-season," he says. "In the first two weeks, in Vienna, we worked hard on the physical aspects. In England we worked on the tactical game and played some tight friendly matches. We did not have a single easy game and every player was ready for those big games. It was great learning experience for our side to play big clubs like Arsenal and Tottenham. Maybe individually, Arsenal had better players - but on a team level, we were equal to them. We beat Arsenal and also played a very good game against Tottenham. We also beat a Turkish division one side.

"We were the better side in all the three games and these performances should give the players a lot of confidence for the league challenge. Having said that, the friendlies are different. Those matches are behind us now. The real football starts now. "This is a very important season with a number of trophies at stake. We have won the Super Cup, but the cup, the Pro League and the AFC Champions League are still ahead of us.

"We need to work hard in every competition and stay in the hunt for all the titles." [e-mail]