DUBAI // Zlatko Dalic says his Al Ain side have nothing to fear ahead of their Asian Champions League tie against Al Ahli.
The UAE champions travel to their main domestic rivals on Wednesday for the first leg of the last-16 continental encounter, knowing Ahli represent a significant obstacle to their chances of reaching the quarter-finals.
Al Ain, semi-finalists last year, come into the match at the Rashid Stadium in fine form, however, having earlier this month lifted a 12th league title. Ahli, meanwhile, struggled throughout their Arabian Gulf League title defence, finishing seventh.
The two teams know each other well, since they have spent the past few years battling one another for a succession of trophies. Ahli, now led by Cosmin Olaroiu, the former Al Ain coach, defeated the Garden City club in the Super Cup in March, although Al Ain won the most recent meeting – a 1-0 victory in the league.
Understandably, Dalic remains wary of the threat posed by Wednesday's opponents.
“Last season we played many games against Ahli, in the league and the Super Cup, and every time we had a tough game,” he said. “But the most important thing is that we impose our style on the match. The small details will be important.
“I trust my team. I have the best team – we don’t have any reason to be scared of anybody. We respect everyone, but I’ve big respect for my team, my players. Ahli are very strong and I expect a lot from them, especially Mr Cosmin, a big coach, the best in this region.
“But, I repeat, I don’t want to worry about the other team. For me, the most important is my players, my team.”
Ahli contest the Champions League knockout stages for the first time, having finished runners-up in Group D. Qualifying for the last 16 was one of the Dubai club's main objectives at the beginning of the season, yet Olaroiu says they have now recalibrated their aspirations.
He realises, too, that Al Ain constitute a considerable danger to those ambitions.
“They have experience in this competition,” Olaroiu said. “Even last year, they played a lot of Champions League games and have a very strong team. They are favourites to win this competition, but this is not enough.
“Now, the first game is at home. I was talking to the players and saying that, at this level of competition, we have to have a strategy for both games, not just the first. We have to think of the game as 180 minutes. We don’t stop here. We have to keep setting new targets.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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