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Al Ain v Al Shabab Pre-Match Press Conferences

Al Ain head coach Cosmin Olaroiu previewed his top-of-the-table side’s match at home to fifth-placed Al Shabab in a pre-match press conference held at the Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium. “Al Shabab are a good side with quality players, and they are lead by a coach with vast experience in his field, so the game will be very difficult just as our previous meetings have been,” the Romanian said, noting that Al Shabab’s unlucky loss in the Etisalat Cup semi-final on Monday night does not mean Al Ain will face an easy opponent. Cosmin will have to make do without top scorer Asamoah Gyan for the match, and the coach bemoaned the injury picked up by the Ghanaian striker whilst away on international duty. “Gyan is a player who possesses great experience. He picked up an injury in a friendly match when preparing for the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Sudan, but he still played in this game and it made his injury worse so he had to be substituted. The risk for him to play in this match should not have been taken and I am disappointed that the Ghana officials took the decision to play him when he was already suffering with an injury,” Cosmin said.

Marcos Paqueta, meanwhile, noted that his Al Shabab players and their opponents Al Ain may suffer some form of burnout as both teams have faced many fixtures in both local and intercontinental competitions this season. With the games coming thick and fast, Paqueta feels the players are on the road to exhaustion and hopes for a better-organised schedule across all tournaments next season. Speaking ahead of the game, the Brazilian said; “Al Ain come into the match wanting to maintain their eight-point gap at the top of the table, whilst we are looking to close in on securing a top-four finish. We have got over the shock of our defeat at the hands of Ajman in the Etisalat Cup on Monday, although we were the better team and luck was not on our side in the game.” Though Paqueta is aware that Al Ain will be missing some key players for the match, he does not feel this will weaken their threat. “As with any big team, Al Ain have a very strong bench too, so the absences of Gyan and Omar Abdulrahman will not have too much of an impact on their title challenge,” he added.