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Jazira coach Braga pleased with performance

ABU DHABI — Al Jazira coach Abel Braga was pleased with the start in their season opener but displeased with the scheduling of the League.

Al Jazira opened their Etisalat UAE Pro-League season by blanking Al Nasr 3-0 at home at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Friday night.

It was a great start for Al Jazira after strong title contenders—defending champions Al Wahda and big-spending Al Ahli suffered reverses on the opening night on Thursday.

Khalid Sabeel (32^nd), Abdulla Mousa (75^th) and substitute Ahmed Jumaa scored in the third minute of injury time.

Despite the good start, Braga was unhappy with the weather conditions and it was bound to affect the players. “The weather was really bad. It will affect the health and fitness of the players. Our players were fit and we had a good pre-season training camp in Austria. But this weather is not ideal to play football,” Braga said late on Friday night.

The Brazilian felt that start to the League was too early.

“In Brazil, when the weather is hot, the referees allow the players to have water during stoppages. I feel it is too early to start the League in the UAE,” said Braga.

That apart, Braga was happy with the way his team overcame the weather conditions and gave it their best. He also said that despite the absence of their two new foreign signings, his players were up to the job. He added that the new foreign signings will boost the team. “The players gave their best and played really well. Bare and Delgado presence in the future will add so much to the team,” he said.

Brazilian forward Bare, who moved from Dubai-based club Al Ahli, did not feature in the game because of a red card from the previous season, while their Argentine attacking playmaker Matias Emilio Delgado joined the club only on Wednesday and Braga did not want to risk him.

Meanwhile, Al Nasr coach Helio Anjos said that Jazira were worthy winners.

“Jazira deserved this result. They played really well. We played well in the first half but we made a lot of mistakes. We have our limitations and we are missing a professional player. It was not a good start to the season for us,” Anjos said.

james@khaleejtimes.com