Stressed he started from scratch with the “Boss”.. Zoran: No secrets behind clinching the 13th Shield
The quartet against Al Nasr paved the way to put our hands on the AGL Title
Bad luck made us loose home and away matches against Al Sharjah
My assessment of Amory’s performance in the home match against al Rayyan does not mean he is not a star
It is impossible I disrespect Ainawi Nation or underestimate their role
Al Ain is a priority following receiving numerous offer from Gulf Region
I did not react to criticism and my right decisions are more than wrong ones
Croatia’s Head Coach of Al Ain explicitly expressed his deep pleasure for clinching the title of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) prior the last round of AGL following his team win 4-0 against Al Nasr. He stated: “There is no “Pass code” because football is not “jukebox”. You can’t put in a coin, choose how you want to play and then it is done. Like I have said, it requires a lot of work from everyone, months and months of hard work but then, on the other hand, it is a pleasure to enjoy results of your own work. We are enjoying every game, every training session and the results prove that. You can’t be good in your job if you do not enjoy it. I think that works for everything in life including football. At the moment my players and us on the side are all enjoying it. We commenced our season mid-July and we worked hard with full concentration. In return, the quality level of our opponents pushed us to work harder and improve our performance each match regardless of the level of the opponent and we dealt with each match with all required concentration and attention. Indeed, we all have only one target, that is to win.”
Commenting on nominating his name for the PLC’s Best Coach Award, he said: “Of course, I am very happy and proud to be in contention to win this prestigious award. I have very respectable opponents and absolutely there are some really great coaches in AGL and I must admit being very happy to be chosen among the best. It is a privilege for me whatever the outcome will be.”
He added: “Although having 10 nominees from Al Ain Team sound a lot but it is in all categories. We were the top team this year, leading the league from the beginning to the end and I think that, despite that fact there are many great players in the league, our players were the best ones. In the end, league table certainly proves that.”
Responding to a question on when exactly he felt that Al Ain put their hands on the Shield of AGL, he said: “Not until we beat Al Nasr. However, the team had the desire from the beginning to clinch the title during the pre-preparations of the season. It was clear that all the players determined to make use of all training sessions and achieve the best results in all matches.”
On the issue of receiving offers from other clubs, he pointed out: “Yes, I had several offers from the whole region; not only UAE or Saudi Arabia. After a season like this I think it is not strange; especially when everyone knew my contract expires in the summer. Also, I would like to add that every time someone called my agent or me I said the same thing: I am honored but Al Ain has the advantage and I will first hear what they have to say.” He went on to say: “This is a big club, we have a very good team and enjoy an excellent atmosphere and I am sure we can achieve great things.”
Highlighting the key millstones of the team’s journey to win the 13th AGL Title, he stated: “Of course, winning the El Clasico against Al Wahda, and especially in the way that we did it with 6:2, was a big step forward.” He added: “However, all the games are worth equal. Despite winning Al Wahda two times, Al Wasl away, Ahli Shabab at home, Al Jazira away and many other hard games it wasn’t finished until the Al Nasr game. If we haven’t won, things wouldn’t be over yet and all those wins wouldn’t be worth a lot.” He stressed that Al Ain strived hard to win each match and snatch the full mark and confirmed that losing any match is part of football game but it doesn’t mean the end of the world but a lesson to learn from and correct mistakes and back even stronger.
Zoran shed the light on certain unfortunate moments when Al Ain played against Al Sharjah by saying: “We won only one point out of possible six in the two home and away matches we played against them… There were other hard games like Al Wasl away after the break at the start of the second part of the season or Al Wahda both times but we won all of those games.” He underlined: “It is hard to say… The home game was something special with a lot of unusual things happened in the pitch. We received an early red card, then another one later and despite that had the lead after 90 minutes but conceded from a penalty spot in extra time. Like I’ve said, a very strange game but as for the away match it is easier to explain – we weren’t good enough. Although, we also conceded from a penalty kick that I do not think it was fair… Of course, to all of this we must add their quality, they are not an easy team to beat and they proved it. At any rate, there were certain other tough matches like Al Wasl away after the break at the start of the second part of the season or Al Wahda both times but we won all of those games.”
“When Zlatko left the Club, we did have a chat but it was nothing specific; just some general thoughts about the team, club and his experience here in the UAE. Indeed, I like to get my own impression of the players themselves and the team. When we came here they all started from scratch and had a chance to show themselves and prove they can be worth for the team,” stressed he. He also said: “I am happy that Zlatko’s nice results in this part of the world were valued back in Croatia and he got a chance to be the national team coach. We have a great team, superstars playing for the biggest clubs in Europe.”
As for his unexpected statement in the post-press conference dedicated for the match held between Al Ain and Al Rayyan at Hazza Bin Zayed on assessing Amoory’s performance, he said: “That maybe sounded a bit harsh but it was my opinion. I think that Omar himself did not expect to be the man of the match in that game. He wasn’t that good, somebody else was better that day and I do not see it a problem. Nobody is the best every game. There is no such athlete in the world but that does not mean I do not respect Omar as a player and a person. Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Federer or Bolt they all have games in which they are not the best. It does not make them less amazing; it just makes them human.” He hailed Amoory’s quality skills by saying: “Omar is our captain, he is our star and he proved many times how valuable he is to us. And I am sure he will keep proving his amazing talent and quality for longer time. It is a pleasure and privilege to have him in our team.”
When he was asked on his statement with regards to the fans’ criticism of his decisions, he stated: “We have a saying in Croatia: we have 4.5 million people in the country and 4.5 million national team coaches. Everyone has his own team, every coach would change one, two or more players, would make a different substitution or used a different formation. That is football and the reason why it is the most popular sport in the world. I would never disrespect fans, football is played because of the fans and we want to do everything within the limits of our power to make them happy every game.”
He added: “They are here to make comments on social media and everywhere else and to approve or disapprove the moves coaches make. On the other hand, coaches are here to make decisions, that is our job and, in the end, – we take responsibility for them. Of course, there is not a coach in the world who makes only right decisions but like I have said – we can all only learn from our mistakes. So far, I would say I have made more right ones that the bad ones, wouldn’t you say?”
He pinpointed: “I would not say I criticized the fans. That is not what happened. I will repeat: fans have 100 % right to say they do not like or they disagree with the decision I have made. That is an important part of football but I am the one who makes decisions and take responsibility. If I or any coaches makes many wrong decisions – we all know what will happen and this applies to everywhere in the world.”
Few Hairy Moments
Zoran talked about the most difficult moments he experienced with Al Ain by saying: “The most difficult part is always injuries. I was a professional football, had several severe injuries and surgeries and I know how hard it is for a player. Whenever any player of my team is injured – it is very hard for me. Not only because we don’t have him in our matches we play, but we also lose a family member in our locker room and on training sessions and be separated from his teammates. For example, Bu Senda is one of the most positive people I have seen. Of course, he is a very talented goalkeeper and also always has a big smile on his face and now he got injured in the cruciate ligament and we will be missing his smile for a period of time.”
Showing Respect to Media
Zoran emphasized that he absolutely respects the media’s role and emphasized: “I can’t say that my relation with media representatives is that good, but I show respect to everyone: players, fans, media and everyone working to develop this game. The media has an important role, that is to write about football, players, games, coaches and everything they see and lead to further improve the football game and I do respect that. I never said to any question: “No Comment” as I am always there to respond to their questions and comments.”
