Prandelli working on ‘heavy metal’ style of football
dubai — Al Nasr coach Cesare Prandelli is working on creating an attacking brand of football, espoused by the likes of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, and said that he is not unduly worried about his side’s lack of goals.
Prandelli, who began his reign at Al Nasr with a 3-0 win over Ajman in the Arabian Gulf Cup, saw his side being held to a goalless draw by Sharjah in their League opener.
A flurry of chances went astray but the former Italy coach was relaxed and promised ‘heavy metal’ football, the style adopted by Klopp.
“It is true that we had many chances to score in our last game. As far as missing goals in that game, I cannot say anything but I’m relaxed. I would be more worried if we didn’t create any chance at all,” Prandelli said at the prematch press briefing.
“Football is a show and people who are watching the games, they want goals. So, that is why we are working with our players to have more offensive players, to have more players attacking the box and to score more goals.
“I’m not speaking only about strikers when I talk about players who need to attack the ball and shoulders of the defenders. I’m talking about general team mentality, including the full backs, the wingers and even midfielders attacking the ball and attacking spaces,” he added.
Al Nasr go in search of their first win in the League and face a tough test against a red-hot Al Wahda, who blanked Dibba 5-0, at the Zabeel Stadium on Friday night. And apart from a first League win, Prandelli is looking to avenge Al Nasr’s loss in the President’s Cup last season.
“We are working very hard and we are very well concentrated and much motivated as well because it is going to be a hard game. It is going to be a hard game for two reasons. The first one is that the last time we played against them, we lost and we want to get revenge over that loss. And the second reason is that we want to win the first match of the League,” he said.
“Every game is an important game for us. I want to see something new from our side, in the game because in every game, we want to implement new things and improve our game,” added Prandelli.
And Prandelli felt it will be a totally different game than the one against Sharjah.
“It is always complicated to play against teams which are defending with many players behind the line of the ball. We know the solutions to play against these teams but in the last match, we didn’t implement them. I believe, however, that the next match will be a different kind of game because we are playing against a team who wants to play with the ball and wants to play football so, it will be a different game,” the former Juventus ace said.
james@khaleejtimes.com