Al Ain signs Zoran Mamić as their new head coach
Al Ain Sports Club announced officially the appointment of Zoran Mamić for 18 months as a new manager of the first team replacing his compatriot Zlatko Dalić who terminated his contract by mutual consent 10 days ago. Al Ain’s new manager was introduced to the press today afternoon in a press conference held in HBZ Stadium Conference Room attended by H.E Ghanem Mubarak Al Hajeri, Chairman of Al Ain FC Company; H.E Ahmad Humaid Al Mazrouei, Vice-Chariman; and H.E Mohamed Obeid ‘Hammad’, Board member and Supervisor of First Team.
Sticking to the same Croatian school of coaching, Al Ain is expected to encounter Al Nasr after tomorrow under their new Croatian manager after they were put again on the AGL competition track following their 2-1 win over Al Ahli under their temp coach Josip Španjić.
Al Hajeri welcomed the new manager and wished him all the best in his new endeavor confirming that Zoran’s efficiency and successful record were behind signing him for renewable one and a half seasons.
Al Hajeri denied that money was used to lure Zoran to step down as manager of Saudi Arabia’s Al Nasr describing this accusation circulated by the Saudi press as groundless. “I’d like to make it clear that Zoran was not shortlisted by Al Ain. Following Zlatko’s resignation, we were contacted by the agents of some managers including Zoran’s who is present here now. I told him that Zoran can’t be our choice as he’s still under contract to Al Nasr; but he confirmed to me that Zoran had notified his club of his resignation. We didn’t make any contact with Zoran before we were sure that he had really resigned. Our first ever contact with Zoran was last Friday 27th January, followed by a short negotiation until we reached an agreement. Our selection was mainly driven by Zoran’s successful biography. We were also accused that we disregarded Al Nasr management, but we saw no need to communicate with them, except out of our brotherly relationships, since Zoran had resigned.” Al Hajeri explained.
Reasons behind leaving Al Nasr
For his side, Zoran Mamić, well-known as ‘Zoki’, explained that his family’s desire to live in UAE rather than Al Ain’s attractive offer was behind quitting Al Nasr.
Hoping he will make a good start with Al Ain that has several excellent players and always nominated to win the titles, Zoran thanked Al Ain management for their confidence and expressed his happiness and pride to take the reins at Al Ai. “My backroom staff and I will do our best to make Al Ain fans’ dreams come true locally and continentally,” Zoran said.
Zoki thanked his compatriot predecessor for the achievements he had made with Al Ain and for the information he provided him with about the players, “I’m aware I’ll be challenged by Zlatko’s legacy with Al Ain,” he commented.
He pointed out that he had watched many videos of Al Ain and was impressed by several highly skilled players. “Personally, I believe in cooperation with everyone based on mutual respect. I don’t like to talk to the media; I prefer my actions inside the pitch will speak louder for me. Besides, I’ll take full responsibility for all details inside the pitch,” he explained.
He refrained from talking again about his resignation; “I simply resigned and paid a 2-month salary as a penalty clause. I’d like also to thank Al Nasr management and fans for my 6-month stay with them,” he added.
He did not deny his previous statement in which he described all Al Nasr Club members are ‘coaches’ as they always give technical opinions; “It’s not restricted to Saudi Arabi; it happens everywhere even when I was coaching Dinamo Zagreb and during my stay here in the hotel. However, it’s nice to listen to others to know their viewpoints; it’s a good way of collecting information,” he explained.
He saw no significant difference between the Saudi and Emirati leagues that will hinder him from getting along with the new team shortly; “All I need is to better know the players; I think this is easy because they have a positive mindset and great capabilities.” He concluded.
For his side, Hammad denied that Al Ain’s ex-manager, Zlatko Dalić, and striker Nasser Al Shamrani were behind the deal with Zoran. “These reports are untrue and very common in the sports community; it’s no more than a ‘rumor’. We in Al Ain have our own way of signing players or managers.” He said.
Zoran Mamić … a powerful football manager
Al Ain’s newly signed manager Zoran Mamić (born in Zagreb on 30th September, 1971) is known for his strong personality, taking bold decisions and great capabilities that outpaces his peers.
After starting as a substitute midfielder in Dinamo Zagreb, Zoran joined the first team in 1989 to leave it 7 years later but after he had received the international badge in 1996.
He played for many European clubs, notably the German Leverkusen 1998 – 2000.
In 2007, he concluded his career as a footballer where he had started in Dinamo Zagreb.
Coaching Career
Zoran Mamić started his managerial career when he was appointed as a manager of his original team Dinamo Zagreb in 2013. He led the team in 88 games to make 65 wins, 9 draws and 14 losses.
Zoran’s GCC Experience
In 2016, Zoran took his first coaching experience in GCC when he was appointed the head coach of Al Nasr of Saudi Arabia. In just 6 months, Zoran led Al Nasr to the Crow Prince’s Cup finals. Of 16 games played in Jameel League, his squad made 10 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses.
Playstyle
It is expected that Zoran will apply his preferable tactic of 3-3-4 during Al Ain’s coming games though he would adapt it to some variation of 1-3-2-4 and so on.
Honors
Zoran Mamić record with Dinamo Zagreb was appreciated by UEFA; Zoran led the team to a 45-game winning streak with no loss in 2014-2015 Season outpacing the record of 40-game winning streak set by the Spanish Riyal Madrid.
Profile
Name Zoran Mamić
Date of Birth 30th September, 1971
Nationality Croatia
Achievements: Zoran led Dinamo Zagreb to winning the title of the Croatian League (Prva HNL) for 3 seasons in a row 2014, 2015, 2016 in addition to the Croatian Football Cup for 2 consecutive Seasons 2015, 2016.
Zoran Takes Over
At the end of introducing him to the media in a press conference, Zoran headed off to the pitch to start his assignment with Al Ain; he began his first training session at KBZ Stadium in preparation for Al Ain’s encounter with Al Nasr tomorrow; while he would conduct today’s training session at HBZ Stadium.
