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Gyan: Arabian Gulf Super Cup rivalry makes us more motivated

Following a record-breaking year just gone, Al Ain’s sharpest shooter Asamoah Gyan is raring to go as the new Arabian Gulf League season looms. We met with the Ghanaian star striker at Al Ain’s pre-season training camp to look ahead to the 2013/2014 campaign, starting with Friday’s eagerly anticipated Arabian Gulf Super Cup match between his side and Al Ahli.

How are you feeling after a tough pre-season ahead of the Arabian Gulf Super Cup – are you fighting fit and ready to go?
Actually I picked up a small muscle strain in training a couple of days ago but it’s nothing major. I was training alone for a few days but I will start back to my normal training program now and I’m going to say definitely I will be fit for the Super Cup.

It’s certainly not a game you would want to miss…
Definitely not. It’s a big game for the fans and a tough game for us, and I’m looking forward to it. With the kind of players we have, we can definitely win it. It would be a really nice way to start the season so we will try our best.

What do you make of the increasingly intense rivalry between your team, Al Ain, and your opponents on Friday, Al Ahli?
At the moment everyone is saying there is a big rivalry between Al Ain and Al Ahli, and that is what people are talking about and how the fans feel. For me I also feel the rivalry because of what happened between us last season, and honestly I don’t see any other teams having the same rivalry as us in UAE. I played before for Sunderland in the Premier League, and of course everyone knows the rivalry between Sunderland and Newcastle is huge. Now finally I see this kind of relationship between Al Ain and Al Ahli, and it will definitely make the League and any games between us very lively.

Do you feel having this kind of rivalry in the Arabian Gulf League is a positive step for football in the UAE?
Yes, definitely. There should always be rivals in football because it adds entertainment and it is the games between fierce rivals that people love to watch. Even for people who are not fans of the two clubs or are just visiting the UAE as tourists, they will check to see if Al Ahli and Al Ain are playing each other because they will want to attend and watch this game. It’s a great thing; the rivalry doesn’t mean we want to fight and have conflict, it just adds something extra to entertain the people, and it also makes the players more focused and motivated.

How important is it for you to start the season by securing some silverware in the Arabian Gulf Super Cup?
Although it would be nice to win the Super Cup I don’t believe winning or losing this one game will tell us about the whole season to come, because we have many more games in the season. But of course if we win the Super Cup it will be a very good start for us, and if a win comes our way it will build our confidence. But don’t forget football is a funny game and some teams can start a season badly and end well, or vice versa. So you never know. Winning is always a good thing and everybody always wants to win. With the players we have, I have no doubt that we can beat Al Ahli on Friday and take the Cup.

Al Ain have made a number of new signings this summer – how have they been settling in, and what impact will the new players have on the team?
Our new signings are very, very important and they are very, very good signings for us. Bastos and Diaky are great and they can boost us particularly in attack. Diaky has got great experience of playing in the UAE for many years and everybody knows what he’s capable of. Bastos, I would say, is among the top players in the world because he has played in his national team and in some of the best leagues; he’s got experience and good quality so I really think his presence will help the team. Since the new signings came we’ve been getting on really well, we are like brothers, like a family. It’s a good thing our new players have joined in and become part of the family here this early. It’s uplifting to have players with this kind of spirit around you.

Finally, you are famous for your dances when you score… Can we expect to see something special if you get a goal on Friday?
As a group we dance together and we really do plan the dances we will do when we score; even the new signings have been joining in and we are making plans so maybe you will see on Friday! Hopefully we will have a good season and we can all keep dancing together.