Al Ain host Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli in Match Day 3 of the Asian Champions League on Wednesday night. John McAuley previews a must-win match for the UAE club.
VICTORY IS VITAL
Al Ain have begun their 2016 Asian campaign in the worst possible fashion, losing twice against Qatar's El Jaish. Successive 2-1 defeats have left the UAE champions bottom of Group D, with the club probably requiring at least three victories from their remaining four matches to progress to the knockout stages. Al Ain are the only Emirati side to have won the tournament, in 2003.
Read more from John McAuley:
[ Douglas can score for Al Ain, but Gyan-shaped shadow will lift only by doing so in Asia ]
[ Omar Abdulrahman ‘can play in any league in Europe’, lauds former Barcelona coach ]
[ Al Ain’s Douglas takes home the match ball after stunning hat-trick against Al Jazira ]
DANGEROUS OPPONENTS
Al Ahli currently lead the Saudi Pro League, one point ahead of Al Hilal with six matches left. The Jeddah side, Champions League runners-up in 2012, have fared slightly better than Al Ain thus far in the group, winning their opening match before suffering defeat in the reverse against Uzbekistan’s Nasaf last time out. As a result, Ahli sit third in the pool.
THE TASK AHEAD
“We have already lost two games in the Champions League, and so we need to correct our mistakes,” said Zlatko Dalic, the Al Ain coach. “In the last two league matches we have scored seven goals, but we must avoid these defensive errors. Al Ahli are a very strong team who are top of the Saudi league. They lost to Al Hilal in the Crown Prince Cup last month, so they will be doing their best to win tomorrow. But all my players are ready.”
HANDLING THE STRAIN
“In the first two Champions League matches we played well, and everyone at the club knows how important it is to win tomorrow,” Dalic said. “To qualify, our job is a bit difficult now and the pressure is on us, but this is normal for us. For the past two seasons, we’ve had the same pressure and we’re used to it. This is a positive for the players to make them do their best. I hope to win.”
OPPOSITION VIEW
“It is important for us is to get the points in order to achieve our goals, which we have been asking the players for,” said Christian Gross, the Ahli coach. “Our strategy is always to win any match. We are here to return with the three points. Al Ain are a strong team who are looking to win the tournament, just like the ambitions of our club. We have the motivation and the incentive, and hope to use those to achieve our targets.”
[ jmcauley@thenational.ae ]
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
