Together Stronger.. Pedro: Al Ain is A Serious Contender for League Title

Press

I Want to Play in Our Style to Achieve the Best Results

I Trust the League Officials Decision to Resume League Activities 

I Would Say Nothing About the Future as we are Required to Clinch Titles in the Present

I Feel Comfortable with the Players During the Online Training Sessions 

Family Spirit Boosts the Team’s Strength, and We Endeavor to Make the Fans Happy 

I Watch Al Ain Matches Daily While at Home Quarantine 

Working with the Family Spirit is the Most Significant Lesson Learned Out of COVID-19 Pandemic 

“It is too early to talk about our preps for the coming period and prefer to focus on the current season, considering that chances of my team are still valid to compete and win titles,” Pedro Emmanuel, head coach of Al Ain FC, said in a statement to Al Ain TV Channel while hosted by the producers of “Al Ain in A Week” Show on Thursday 14th May 2020.  

While talking with a surge of excitement, the Portuguese coach emphasized that his team will fight to hoist the AGL and President’s Cup trophies. He said that “we will play in our well-known style and the way we win our matches.” 

Pedro stressed that he prefers to focus on the current season, “So, I will not talk about the next season while we have lots to do in the coming matches, which we look forward to winning them all by the end of this season.” 

“All the players well aware of the Club’s goals and the coaching team besides all members of our big Club knows our profound desire deeply to achieve our targets and our fans’ aspirations,” he said. 

He went on to say: “This is why we have to focus on sound planning and be honored on coronation podium to be all happy. Then, we could talk about the next season and what we have to do. Currently, our future is the present, and we will be working according to this common sense.” 

Responding to a question on how he satisfied by the online training sessions, he said: “I believe that online training sessions are completely different from what we used to do. However, our players show remarkable responses while conducting these training sessions via visual meetings. All of them enjoy their time as they are highly committed with the instructions of home quarantine.” 

He added: “These are defining times for them all. It is not only about physical aspects but about the team spirit, which I could easily recognize. They enjoy the presence of their teammates supporting each other, which is an important issue for the coaching team.” 

Pedro underlined that the coaching team must maintain the team’s high level of physical fitness. “We enjoy the times when we see them training and demonstrate such high morale. It is essential for us as a team, and the most important thing is that they enjoy the family spirit over time.” 

On the PLC provisional decision to resume the league activities by August 2020, he pointed out that society’s health is more important than football. He stressed that specific new ideal mechanisms to manage matches in post-COVID 19 should be addressed.

Hailing the PLC decision, he said: “Personally, I do trust the officials’ decisions on the right time to resume collective training sessions and matches. I believe suspending and deferring all dates of matches was an important decision. We all have to ensure that players are comfortable to enjoy the matches and perform well, considering that the fans will not be present in the standings as usual and as we like and prefer but at home.” 

Pedro confirmed that “when we play, we play for Al Ain and win. When we are comfortable, we will have confidence in ourselves and perform well and achieve our desired goals.” 

Al Ain Portuguese coach touched upon the lessons learned out of this current pandemic, including that we all need to stand next to each other, and this is not only in our routine life but extends to football. “Alone, we cannot achieve our goals, and we all need to enjoy the teamwork spirit, and this is what we see happening at present. This is the most important lesson form me.” 

“I believe that this is the most important lesson for me. We will face the challenge in the next stages at the individual level but at the level of the society and the whole world because simply the world will change,” Pedro said.

He highlighted that we have to adapt to such change through the spirit of the one family, exactly like when a team plays in matches. “Things will get better, and we could achieve our targets as the teamwork proved to be a success. We are not alone, and together we will be stronger.”  

Commenting on a question on how he spends his time during home quarantine, he said: “We experience unusual times and absolutely it difficult for all of us. Home quarantine has forced us to stay at home more than we used to do. In return, we spend more time with the family, which is a good thing.”

“Currently, we are doing a lot of things that we do not have time to do it. We all enjoy the time with the family, and I consider this as a crucial aspect,” he said.

Amongst other things he does at home daily, he is so keen to watch Al Ain matches and how he could develop and improve the team’s performance. “I want to make the team’s performance the best and achieve the greatest results.” 

He concluded the interview by stating, “We all have to be safe and stay at home and follow all the preventive and precautionary instructions issued by health authorities. We have to do simple things that we are not used to doing daily, but we are required to do them by the end of the day.”