Sharjah to begin ADIB Cup title defence, Al Ain take on Al Nasr

Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter

Holders Sharjah will start their ADIB Cup title defence against Ittihad Kalba in the quarter-final match of the tournament on Thursday.

All the rounds are played in home and away format except the final, which is held at a neutral venue. On the completion of the first round, six teams advanced to the quarter-finals and joined winners and the runners-up to complete the last eight line-up.

Sharjah capped a stellar season by winning three trophies despite finishing in the mid-table in the league. They clinched the Super Cup, ADIB Cup and the prestigious President’s Cup last season. The trophy-laden season fetched manager Cosmin Olariou the Best Coach Award.

The match is being billed as the re-match of the first round where Sharjah defeated Kalba 4-3 in a goal-galore. Sharjah are in the fifth position with nine points from four games in the league. Sharjah is one of the three Pro League clubs, who have retained their managers.

Olariou vowed no slip-up against Kalba in their first match of the tournament.

“We will try our level best and play with the full potential. We know Kalba are a strong team and they can spring a surprise on a given day,” said Olariou.

Kalba are three places adrift to Sharjah with seven points from as many games. Kalba also exuded their faith in the Iranian coach Farhad Majidi, the third team to retain the coach is Khorfakkan, who continue with Abdul Aziz Anberi, former coach of the current champions Shabab Al Ahli.

In the other match of the day, Al Ain will take on Al Nasr. Both the teams have undergone sweeping changes from the coach to their line-up.

Al Ain swept the Pro League Awards bagging three titles. Erik Johnson won the Golden Boy Award in the resident player category. Soufian Rahimi bagged the Fans’ Player of the Year honour, whereas Al Ain were given the awards for the Professional Excellence for the Club Licensing.

Under the new coach Alfred Schreuder of the Netherlands, Al Ain kicked off their campaign on a positive note, moving to the second spot with 12 points in the league.

They will also begin their ADIB campaign with quarter-finals as they had finished as runners-up in the last season. Al Ain were beaten by Al Nasr 1-0 in their last match of the Pro League.

Al Ain coach Schreuder ruled out that the result of the last game between both the teams will have any bearing on the upcoming encounter.

“I don’t think that it will have any impact on the result of this match. Winning and losing are a part and the parcel of football.

“It is a new game and we will try to start afresh with our focus on the current match. I have spoken to the players. We will try to avoid the mistakes that we committed in the last game. We should have converted our chances.

“We had five to six chances to score goals but we failed to convert them into goals. This is the only game where we did not score a single goal.

“We don’t have any absences at the moment, and we will see the readiness of the international players after their return to the team,” he concluded.

Al Ain’s midfielder Abdulkarim Traoré confirmed that preparations for his team's next confrontation against Al Nasr in the ADIB Cup competition, are going well, explaining: “We have closed the file of the last confrontation and are currently focusing on our upcoming entitlements, starting with our next match, and the coach has been keen to analyze the performance of the team.

“The team worked to correct the mistakes so that we can return to the path of victories again."

“I consider myself lucky, and feelings of pride and happiness have not left me since I got a call-up from the first team.

“I know the value of the club which I belong to. It is one of the largest clubs in the continent of Asia. I would like to thank the club’s management, which provided full support and care for me when I was playing in the academy.

“I also thank coach Schroeder, who gave me confidence. I promise everyone that I will always strive to be up to the challenge in defending

“I believe that Al Ain have the largest fan base in the country and the region, and they always give us the motivation to achieve our goals and enhance our self-confidence.

“We never felt that we were going into any confrontation alone, so I trust them. Their presence to support us in our next match against Al-Nasr will boost our confidence and motivate us to win the match,” he concluded.