BANGKOK, THAILAND // Edgardo Bauza was asked the question, and he gave what appeared to be an honest answer.
“I’ve had 12 days to prepare, when I wanted to spend one month,” the Argentine said at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium on Monday, the eve of his first competitive fixture in charge of the UAE national team.
Twelve days since he first began training with a full squad, with Omar Abdulrahman, Ahmed Khalil and all. Twelve days with the UAE’s best 20-something players, give or take, as they prepare for Tuesday’s must-win World Cup qualifier against Thailand.
No, he has not had enough time to prepare, but he was eager to stress that he was not complaining either. “We are ready,” Bauza repeated. Quite rightly, he would have wanted a month, or in an ideal world more, yet it has been a pretty whirlwind four-and-a-half weeks anyway.
Appointed on May 11, Bauza initially travelled home to Argentina to tie up loose ends, then came back to the UAE, where he took in the President’s Cup final and began an introductory training camp with only a few of his players. The numbers grew steadily and, by May 31, he was off with the squad to Malaysia before finally reaching Thailand last Thursday.
Nevertheless, the hard work has been put in, Bauza emphasised, “every minute, every hour”. Ultimately, he hopes the incessant endeavour leads to Russia next summer.
And there is the rub: Bauza has not been given much time, and the odds seem stacked against him, but World Cup 2018 represents the immediate objective. Three matches to overturn a seven-point deficit and claw back significant ground lost on Australia, Saudi Arabia and Japan – the three teams locked on 16 points above them in Group B.
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McAuley in Bangkok
■ Bauza: UAE are ready for Thailand
■ Rajevac: Thailand hope for surprise
■ Diary: Tepid interest in bustling Bangkok
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Yes, Bauza’s bow has come round incredibly quickly. But, as he suggested, there has been much crammed into those 12 days. Encouragingly, the early feedback have been positive. From both sides.
Bauza is pleased with the players, and they appear impressed with him, too. The language barrier has not been an issue, Abdulrahman confirmed on Sunday, as Bauza converses with the team through Moroccan coach Tarek bin Jaiadeh.
Perhaps the limited time has prompted it, for Bauza is an extremely vocal presence on the training pitch, constantly stopping play, continuously imparting advice to his players. It has been well received, like when defender Mohanad Salem praised the manager for being a “hard-working coach who is focused on teamwork. Everything is under control”.
That extends off the pitch also, where team supervisor Abdullah Saleh has been entrusted by Bauza to keeps spirits high, to repair the psychological damage done by those chastening defeats to Japan and Australia in March. The new management has brought a new voice and a fresh set of eyes. Evidently, it was needed.
The first test of that is Thailand, of course, the initial examination of what Bauza brings to the table, of how he is different to Mahdi Ali. Rather fortunately, he has been afforded a heavily depleted Thailand, bottom of Group B and already out of the running, with their own new manager, Milovan Rajevac.
Maybe it has all worked out as well as it might. Twelve days has not been perfect, but the early signs are that, to answer the reporter’s question to Bauza on Monday, it will actually be enough.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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