(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Al Ain coach Zatko Dalic doesn't live in the past. He is confident that his boys can edge past the Qatari side El Jaish to win the AFC Champions League semifinal first leg at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The Garden City club have twice lost to the Qatari side in the group stages. "Yes, they have beaten us twice. They are a strong team. We have immense respect for them but as usual I am optimistic. I trust my players to deliver," he said at a Press conference. The Croatian said the team are 'so close to their dreams' but also 'so far' too. "When we played in the group stages, we had the chance to fix our mistakes, but now we have two matches for the final, for glory." The team have done well recently in the Arabian Gulf League matches and are in good fiddle. "It's a big pressure game. But we must be calm and play our style. I know our team is ready." The coach is desperate to show that the 'two defeats are not the real situation'. "I'm convinced my team will play a good game. We spent the past two weeks together, trained together and played three games," Dalic said in an apparent reference to his 'missing' national players. Meanwhile, El Jaish coach Sabri Lamouchi is aware that it will be a big test against the 'Boss'. "See, none believed that we will beat Al Ain twice in one week but it happened. It was a big surprise. Tuesday will be different. We'll play against 11 players determined to give their best for this game," he said. On his team playing the semis, he said: "They have never played in the semi-final. But Al Ain played two final and now they want to win again. But I trust in my players. We'll try and give our best." The Qatari side will be under pressure from the 12th man - the fans. El Jaish have doomed the dream semis clash against Al Nasr. But the coach said his team 'deserved' to be in the semis. Share
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