Described Douglas ‘an extraordinary striker’
Issam Abdullah, Al Ain Administrator, said that El Jaish of Qatar and Al Ain quite familiar of the capabilities of each other especially that they met twice during the AFC Group Stage.
He said that Al Ain suffered no loss in the AFC tournament after its two-legged loss to El Jaish. He pointed out that Al Ain’s local and foreign players have been on progress since then; “That was evidenced in Al Ain’s last fixture against the Emirates in which Caio and Danilo scored and Douglas hit a hat-trick. That will motivate all players to continue their excellent results,” he said.
“In fact, the players are aware,” he continued “that they are just a step away from the AFC final and from making the 13-year anticipated title come true.” He believed it is achievable given the players’ sense of responsibility and determination as well as the team’s last training-like games in the AGL tournament.
He did not agree that Al Ain’s next encounter versus El Jaish would be retaliatory; “It’s not avenge; but rather a critical challenge that we’ll take tomorrow on our own grounds,” he replied.
He stressed the importance of leveraging the home advantage to achieve a good result during the first leg versus El Jaish; “Our circumstances are suitable now; but who know what might happen before the second leg especially that some of our players will join the National team, and we have to play two games in AGL.”
He appreciated Douglas’ re-scoring and hat-trick believing it will enhance his self-confidence and the fans’ confidence in him prior El Jaish’s game. “Even when he didn’t score, Douglas was effective in the team’s good results through his superb movements on the field and the tactical and extra duties he assumes. He is a kind of strikers who can easily score from inside the box with the support of his teammates,” he added.
He concluded by stressing the importance of always finding offensive solutions by taking advantage of the capabilities of Caio, Douglas and Danilo.
