“Ammouri”: We Promise Everyone to Announce our Qualification to the Quarter-Final from Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium
Captain of Al Ain Team, Omar Abdul Rahman “Ammouri”, said to the press after the end of the match, “It was possible to leave Azadi Stadium with a better result. Indeed, losing the match by 0-1 in the last critical minutes was not easy for all of us. Though, we still have the chance to respond and win the Iranian team on our field and among our fans in the coming second leg match. I do believe that we are required to have high concentration and redouble our efforts to announce our qualification to the quarter-finals from Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.”
Regarding his health conditions he experienced in Iran hours before the match and his determination to be in the starting lineup, he commented, “Regardless of anything, Al Ain remains the first priority, whatever the circumstances are. I wanted to be with my brothers in the team as I believe that my presence was so important, especially as the team cannot tolerate any new absences. We all in Al Ain Team are keen not to think about anything else except the logo of our club. If we feel that our club in need for Omar’s or any other player’s efforts, we will not hesitate a moment to respond to the call of duty.”
He went on to say, “All the players fulfilled their obligations at their best. The goal in our net was a mistake committed by all of us and not a single player. I think Esteghlal Tehran succeeded in making use of the penalty in the right manner to their interest. However, we are still capable of compensating the result on our pitch.”
Commenting on the first loss during the team’s successful journey in the current edition of the AFC Champions League, he said, “Losing a match in the football world sometimes intensifies the team’s stamina and desire to compensate the negative result and achieve the desired goals; I do hope that we will qualify to the quarter-finals. It is a matter of fact that we did not feel the strength of our opponent among their fans; on the contrary we were dominated most of the spaces while Esteghlal relied on long crosses to reach our areas.”
As for the fans of the Iranian team attended the match in Azadi Stadium, he stated, “Definitely, when you face a team that is supported by more than 65,000 fans at home, you feel the wonderful atmosphere, and in every second we spent there we remembered the importance of making Al Ain’s fans happy. Yet, we must not forget that there are some young players who experienced such an atmosphere for the first time but they played a very big game and deserve to be commended for their efforts. I hope to see all the Ainawi Nation in Hazza bin Zayed Stadium and I promise them to achieve a strong result that guarantees, with God willing, the team’s qualification to the quarter-finals.”
