Busenda is 10/10.. Leko: Not Satisfied with the Performance and Happy by the Victory
“Today, we could find an answer why we all love football!” With this statement the Croatia’s head coach of Al Ain FC Ivan Leko opened the post-match media conference of round 4 match of the Arabian Gulf Cup held at the Hazza bin Zayed stadium against Al Nasr FC.
He expressed that he witnessed the worst performance by his team, particularly in the first 30 minutes, although it was an easy match. “We did not take advantage of that the opponent was down by one and we lost the ball easily. However, we won the opponent and I have to commend Al Ain goalkeeper, Mohammed Busenda for saving his net in several occasions.”
Leko went on to say: “Compared to our match against Al Sharjah, we performed well and lost the match, while tonight we did not perform well but we won the match. At any rate, I have to congratulate the players as our first goal of any match is to win and the second goal is to improve performance.”
Leko added: “We achieved an important victory at home and among our fans who deserved to be hailed for their continuous support. I do believe we need to work hard and to redouble our efforts compared to what I saw in the first thirty minutes of the match.”
In response to a question on the performance of players coming back from injury, he said: “I believe that Caio’s performance was stunning. He was one of the top three players specially in the first half. Indeed, he is a significant player, enjoys the leadership charisma and mentality and he has a super fighting spirit. As for Mohammed Ahmad, you know that he was subject for medical treatment for nine months which a long period. It is hard for a player to be away from training and playing for such a long period. However, he needs at least four or five matches to fully recover and back to normal.”
“Tonight, Mohammed Busenda proved to be a star and deserved to get 10 out of 10 for his dazzling performance. Also, Mohammed Khalfan performed well, and he is a quality skillful player. All he needs is to boost his efforts to the maximum and focus on improving his performance. Not to forget the man of this match, Jamal Marouf. He is a quality player and in terms of figures and statistics he is second to Caio,” Leko hailed the stars of the match.
Leko acknowledged that his squad performance was poor in this match and when asked how he is planning to handle this issue, he said: “The answer is easy! I have 27 players in the first football team, and I have to select only 11 of them each match. Every minute the spend in training sessions and matches, they have to prove that they deserve to be one of the first eleven I select.
He added: “It does not matter the salary you receive or the car you are riding. It is all about your performance and efforts you exert in the pitch to ensure that you will be selected to play next match.”
