Mamic optimistic of Al Ain’s chances despite AFC draw
COACH BACKS NEW SWEDISH RECRUIT BERG TO COME GOOD WITH TIME
goalless draw in the first leg quarter-final of the AFC Champions League was deemed as a fair result for both Al Ain and Al Hilal, by fans and coaches.
Given the intense heat and humidity, It was virtually impossible to expect more from the players — playing when the mercury hovers around 39 degrees is not just harsh but can have adverse physical effect: something the governing body may have to take a look at in future.
By the second half, most of the players looked drained out, running on reserves and were giving their best on sheer will power. Al Ain’s new Swedish recruit Marcus Berg, who probably would have never encountered such energy-sapping conditions, looked the worst affected.
Al Ain coach Zoran Mamic didn’t mince words in accepting that it was hard on Berg and that the Swede would need time to adapt to the conditions in this part of the world. “Berg didn’t play well because the team didn’t play at top level. It was very hard for him, this being the first official game in this temperature and I think he is still on the bed,” said Mamic, who kept the striker on the field for a good 70 minutes.
Though it wasn’t a dream debut for Berg, Mamic backed the Swede to come good with time and felt one match is not enough to judge the former’s potential.
“Marcus is a great player and he will make fans and me as a coach very happy. He needs few more games to adapt to this weather and it is not easy but he is a great professional. I’m sure he will come up well,” said Mamic adding that in the pre-season training Berg was the best player as the conditions were better.
“Marcus will be going to join his national team but we have one more week with him. I think that would be enough for him to improve,” said Mamic, who overall was happy with the way his team performed considering conditions weren’t conducive to players playing to their full potential. “The weather was unbearable for two teams, so the result is OK. First half we started very nervous especially in the last line, but in the second half we started very good until the red card.
One player less
“Then of course with one player less, it is not easy to be on the pitch with Al Hilal. But we still managed to create two chances to score, one with Omar Abdul Rahman and then Douglas. Al Hilal also had two very good chances. We are satisfied with this result as we didn’t concede a goal which was important,” said Mamic who felt that three weeks’ time was good enough to get his players ready for the return leg.
“By then the players will have played in the Arabian Gulf League Cup and national team players would have also played a couple of matches. The Riyadh match will have a good atmosphere with packed stadium and Al Ain will make it to the semis … hopefully,” felt Mamic, who also was happy with the way Brazilian Douglas, who was criticised heavily for missing a penalty in the finals of the same tournament last season, handled the pressure of coming back into the team.
“I’m happy to have two Brazilians in Douglas and Caio in my team, but they don’t have the Brazilian mentality, they are like Germans. Bigger players than Douglas have missed penalties and we have to back him. Today everyone was happy with him and he works hard on his game and really is a good character,” revealed Mamic.
Al Hilal coach Ramón Díaz too was pleased with his team’s effort and was of the view that his side will be better prepared for their home match.
“I’m very happy with the performances as this is first match of the season and we will now await the second leg. We will better our performance in next match. We had two chances in last few minutes and they were relying heavily on counter attacks today. We still have another 90 minutes,” said Diaz.