We are required to concentrate, be committed, be serious, and to satisfy the ambitions of the Ainawi nation
Khalid Essa: We did not find any difficulty while correlating with Leonardo Jardim’s ideas for several reasons
Claiming the title of AFC Champions league will not excuse us from rising again in order to claim the title of more tournaments
Al Ain is a big football club and cannot tolerate more mistakes for a long period of time because they are required to claim titles during every season
Our task at the Asian tournament will not be easy and we are required to return to the correct path
Khalid Essa, the “International” goalkeeper for our national football team and for Al Ain football club, expressed his sincere wishes for his team over returning to the correct path under the leadership of the Portuguese manager Leonardo Jardim. At the same time, he pointed out that his team have exhibited some good signs during the most recent match vs Al Orooba in ADNOC Pro League competitions, he said: “Certainly, we will be keeping all positive aspects of play and we will be addressing all negative aspects of play during our upcoming match vs Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia at the Asian football tournament, so this requires concentration and hard work, as well as fighting on the pitch.”
Al Ain goalkeeper also said that his team will be playing at AFC Champions League, which is a task that will not be easy, he explained: “Every team who plays at a continental football tournament is considered a powerful team and should not be underestimated, and it is expected that Al Ain will be facing several matches of more difficult nature, so this requires coordinated efforts and the collaboration of everyone, as well as concentration, discipline, commitment to the coach’s instructions all the time.”
He Said: “We have no solution ahead during the upcoming period of time except to adopt the required calm attitude in order to overcome the declined results period, which accompanied the team all along the past period of time, especially on the Asian level. Calmness helps in identifying all shortcomings and negative aspects of play. As for the players, we did not find any difficulty in correlating with instructions and ideas of the new manager, because he knows it all, whether it is small or big aspect, and his name is well known.”
In response to a question over the return of the Togolese forward player Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba to the team’s starting lineup, he said: “Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba underwent injury circumstances during the previous period of time, so we all have to support him so he can return to his known performance, and this will not be too far away because he is a big player.”
Commenting on a question over the reason behind the change that the team have underwent after claiming the continental title during the past season and claiming victories over all of the Saudi teams, unlike the team’s current situation, he said: “For us the past year is over now, during which we claimed the title of AFC Champions League and this important tile became on the history records of our club, but this will not excuse us from raising again and continuing our path of triumph, because we are a big club and we are required to claim more accomplishments, while Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia is not less than Al Hilal and Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia, so everyone aspires to claim the match’s three points, accordingly we ask Al Mighty Allah to assist us and guide our path.”
Over the phenomenon of the repeated individual mistakes at the team, which the team’s goalkeeper has always been held responsible for on the pitch, he said: “Goalkeeping is the most difficult position on the pitch from my point of view, because those who follow up can find out that the most recent mistakes were committed before the net, but the analysts and the specialists, like the manager, always confirm to us that 90% of the committed mistakes in the team are caused by a malfunction in the team’s ecosystem, so all of us are to be held responsible over the committed mistakes and failures, and they will be addressed as soon as possible. Al Ain is a big football club and cannot tolerate more mistakes over a longer period of time, so we will be cooperating with the team’s head coach and our teammates at the team in light of the matches pressure in order to decrease the number of individual mistakes.”
He concluded his speech by saying: “I do wish success for my team in the second match for the manager and we are looking forward for continuity in claiming the positive results, especially that the manager has worked to correct the mistakes and minor detail, and he is in the lead. So, we ask Al Mighty Allah to grant us success and guide our path.”
