(MENAFN-Khaleej Times) Al Jazira will look to correct a dismal record at home when they welcome Qatar?s Al Rayyan in their opening Group A fixture of the AFC Champions League at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Tuesday night
Hosts take on Qatar’s Al Rayyan in AFC Champions League
Al Jazira will look to correct a dismal record at home when they welcome Qatar’s Al Rayyan in their opening Group A fixture of the AFC Champions League at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Spiders do not have anything to write home about when it comes to their record at the Mohammed bin Zayed, in the Asian competition. They have won only four of the 16 games played at the venue.
But then, the ‘Pride of Abu Dhabi’ are on a hot streak, unbeaten in their last seven matches in the competition at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, with three wins and four draws in the past two seasons, coming into this game.
Al Jazira find themselves in a tough Group A which also has Iran’s Esteghlal and Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab. While most may consider it favourable that Al Jazira will begin their campaign at home, Al Jazira coach Walter Zenga knows anything can happen. And it is a fact not lost on the Italian.
“There is nothing that confirms that if we play our first game at home or we end our campaign away, or we start away and end at home, we will go through. The results can be different. If you remember, Al Ain began with a win at home last season but they couldn’t qualify for the Round of 16,” Zenga said on the eve of the game.
And Zenga prefers to take it one match at a time. “My first objective is the game against Al Rayyan. We will try to win this game first, than think about the future,” he said. Al Jazira blanked Dubai FC 2-0 in the Arabian Gulf League (AGL), in the lead-up to this game but Zenga said that there was no relation and both competitions were different.
“In my opinion, there is no relation between the Arabian Gulf League at the AFC Champions League. Both the competitions are different and they are different situations. Both have different scenarios. The only positive may be is that we come into this game with a victory,” said Zenga.Al Jazira have been the form club over the last 10 games, accumulating more points than any other team in the AGL. “Over the last 10 games, we collected more points than any other team. It is all thanks to the players. They are the best protagonists of the club, not me,” he said.
This is the third meeting between Al Jazira and Al Rayyan and the second time that the Abu Dhabi heavyweights will be hosting the Qatari club.Al Jazira had defeated Al Rayyan 3-2 at home and 4-3 in Doha in 2012. It was the only time that Al Jazira made it to the Round of 16 for the first time in five appearances in the competition. “We are very excited to play in the AFC Champions League. The group we are in, is very interesting and is a tough group. We will try to do our best to take Al Jazira far in the competition,” said Zenga.
About their opponents, Zenga said: “Al Rayyan are a good team. They play really good football and they have a good mentality. But our mentality is to try and stay on the pitch and make sure that the other team is wary of us.”
Meanwhile, midfielder Sultan Barghash said they were well prepared. “We have prepared well. It is an important game for us because it is our first game. We respect Al Rayyan and we will be ready on Tuesday,” said Barghash.
“It is a different competition. If a player wants to reach the maximum, this is it,” Barghash added.
Meanwhile, Al Rayyan will be looking to progress past the group stage for the first time in six attempts. They are currently struggling in their domestic competition and are at the bottom of the Qatar Stars League table.But they will be trying to go all-out for a win on Tuesday. “We have worked very hard for this game. We know our opponents are tough and hard to play,” assistant coach Jesus Malagon, said. Malagon was filling for head coach Manuel Jiminez, who had to fly back to his native Spain. Malagon said that Jiminez would be back in the dug-out on Tuesday.
“The reason we are here is to try to win the game. This is just a game and both teams will try to win. We have our strategy. We will see what will happen on Tuesday,” added Malagon.
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