Al Ahli 0 Sepahan 0
Man of the match Ciel (Al Ahli)
DUBAI // Cosmin Olaroiu has urged the country's football mandarins to show a bit more support for the clubs participating in the Asian Champions League after his exhausted Al Ahli team were forced to share the points with Sepahan on Tuesday night in a listless draw.
Ahli, playing their sixth match in 21 days, looked jaded and created few opportunities, but they still kept the Iranian visitors in check and controlled the game.
“We wanted to win the match, but unfortunately we did not because we did not have the strength to do it,” Olaroiu said. “This is our sixth game in 21 days and this doesn’t happen even in Europe.
“The last game [against Sharjah], we played for more than 70 minutes with 10 men and the players are now complaining about injuries.
“So these things are happening and we are going to pay a price for this in the Champions League.”
The draw leaves Group D wide open, with Ahli at the top on six points, followed closely by Al Sadd and Al Hilal on five points each, while Sepahan have four points. Olaroiu’s men will host Saudi club Hilal next on April 15, and four days later they will meet Al Jazira in the Arabian Gulf League Cup final in Al Ain. On April 22, they will play Sadd in Qatar in their final Champions League group match.
“We have a very important match against Hilal and then we are playing the League Cup final and then on April 22, we play our final match of the Champions League,” Olaroiu said. “How can I prepare the team? Tell me how? Given the situation, we have to fix our priorities.
“I believe all the UAE teams playing in the Champions League this season have a chance of progressing from their groups, but when you are playing every three days, what can you do?
“In this moment, the players are not prepared to play six or seven matches in 20 days and all important matches. When you talk about Europe, they have 25 players at the same level. In the Emirates, we don’t have that.
“That is why they [the country’s football officials] have to think a little bit about the teams playing in the Champions League, because we are representing the country. The Champions League is a different tempo, you play for more minutes. It’s more demanding, which means you need time to prepare the players. So we need to think about this.”
During these past 21 days, Ahli have played three matches in the Champions League, the Arabian Gulf League Cup semi-final against Sharjah, and two emotionally and physically draining Arabian Gulf League matches against Al Ain and Sharjah.
“The problem for us is, all the matches we have played in this period have been very important and very psychologically draining matches,” Olaroiu said. “This is not an excuse for not winning the match, but I feel bad for my players. We want to do something but unfortunately we cannot, given the circumstances.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
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