Al Ain FC coach assistant: The trophy should be ours
Al Ain FC’s Croatian assistant coach Borimir Perkovic lamented Al Ain’s loss of the 2016 AFC Champions League title for the second time after they were held to a 1-1 draw by the South Korean Jeonbuk yesterday evening at Al Ain-based Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium.
Despite the loss, he congratulated the winners. “The team lost the title in the first half where the players wasted more than 5 clear chances. However, things dramatically changed in the second half. We deserved to win but that didn’t happen,” Perkovic said in the post-match press conference, which he delivered on behalf of Zlatko Dalic who was sent off just before the end of the first half.
Perkovic said his men delivered an excellent performance and scored in the perfect time, but the team’s forward Douglas Dyanfres lost a decisive penalty kick. “We were satisfied with the performance in the first half; however, we underperformed in the second. Generally speaking, we are proud of the players who fought until the last minutes, and we also thank our hardcore fans who backed the team during the difficult moments,” he commented.
“We may have underperformed during the second half,” he continued, “but in the end we have to congratulate the players for their performance in the final and the tournament in general. This is football. We apologize to fans who were hoping to celebrate the second title”, he added.
“Everybody witnessed the clear chances we have wasted during the first half. Perhaps it is the first time we waste so many chances in the first half. I think things could have been better if Zlatko were on the bench”, he went on.
The assistant coach revealed that during the stoppage time, Zlatko stressed that there is still time and they have to take advantage of every opportunity. “Zlatko continued to encourage the players and told them they have to fight till the final whistle”.
