Our hearts are with Leonardo Jardim, Al Ain’s head coach
Bandar Al Ahbabi: We are not considering the advantage of the result of the first leg match… While our sought after goal is to claim victory with all due respect for Al Jazira football club
Our task in the second leg match will not be easy… And we are looking forward to present the qualification ticket to the team’s head coach
Bandar Mohammed Mohammed Saeed Al Ahbabi, the captain of Al Ain football club, emphasized on the readiness of “The Boss” in order to take on their upcoming match vs Al Jazira football club for the third consecutive time. The match will be taking place on the evening of next Monday on the pitch of Mohammed Bin Zayed stadium. This match comes in the second leg round of the quarter finals of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup. During the match’s introductory press conference, Bandar Mohammed Mohammed Saeed Al Ahbabi said: “We will be taking on this match with the possibility of the team’s head coach being absent from the coaching area, but our hearts will definitely be with him in light of health conditions that his wife is undergoing, so we wish her to quickly recover from her condition. We will be working to do our best in order to claim the qualifying ticket and to present it to the team’s manager in an attempt to make him happy.”
He added: “We are currently training under the supervision of the head coach’s assistant coaching staff, we are also well aware of the great responsibility that is assigned to all of us. We are working hard and with full concentration in order to perform very well in our upcoming match vs Al Jazira football club, a match that we know it will not be easy.”
Over the importance of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup, he explained: “All football tournaments are very important for us at Al Ain football club. So, defending the team’s logo requires us to perform our best and to show up with the required level of readiness that comes in line with the ambitions of our fans and our administration. Accordingly, all matches represent an important challenge, not only for us as players, but also for the competing teams who are keen to perform their best levels in the face of Al Ain football club. So, we consider this matter that always motivates us to perform our best.”
Regarding the advantage of leading with one goal after the end of the first leg match, Al Ahbabi said: “During the upcoming match, our competing team will be having 90 minutes to compensate for the disadvantage, not only five or ten minutes. So, we have to maintain our full concentration and to seriously deal with the match, without considering the advantage of the first leg match. Regarding us, we consider that the first leg match was over with a scoreless draw 0-0, so we are keen to claim a positive result which will guarantee us the qualification ticket. I also wish that we would be successful in realizing our sought after goal and to qualify to the semi finals round of competitions.”
