Al Ain players fail to join club

Al Ain players during a training session in Austria.

By Ashwani Kumar

Published: Tue 2 Aug 2016, 9:12 PM

Last updated: Wed 3 Aug 2016, 12:26 AM

Al Ain FC preparations for a challenging season have suffered a big setback. Seven of the club's 'missing' players were supposed to join Al Ain's training camp in Austria on Monday (August 1) but this hasn't happened.
The seven Al Ain players are training with the UAE national team in Spain ahead of the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers next month. For Al Ain, too, the stakes are high with the club taking on Uzbekistan's Lokomotiv in the AFC Champions League quarterfinals on August 23. The local season also starts from September 2 and AGL crown remains a priority for the club. The preparatory camps for both the UAE national team and the 'Boss' clashed. The national camp runs from July 10 to August 10 and Al Ain training session from July 15 to August 15. The matter had been sorted with an array of meeting held between the UAE Football Association and the Garden City club. UAEFA secretary general Mohamed Abdulla Bin Hazzam and Al Ain Sports Club board member Ghanem Mubarak Al Hajri had reached an agreement that Al Ain players would join the club in Austria on August 1, thus getting to play at least two friendly matches.
But national coach Mahdi Ali has reportedly refused to release Al Ain players. "They may now join Al Ain camp only by August 9 or 10," a source in Al Ain FC told Khaleej Times.
"It's not only the club or the coach but even fans are upset over the players not joining the conditioning camp," the source added.
Coach Zlatko Dalic has on many occasions made it clear the delay in players joining the Austria camp was 'hurting club's interests'. He also tweeted saying the club is fighting in the AFC Champions League quarter-finals for the country and not just for the club.
Al Ain striker Saeed Al Kathiri said the club deeply miss the 'internationals', especially at a time when every player is redoubling efforts to gun for Continental glory.
"Once they are back, then we will enter the next stage of technical preparations to achieve our aims," the former national player said in a tweet on club official handle.
Midfielder Rashid Issa hailed the terrific atmosphere in the Austrian camp and named 'missing' players Amer Abdurrahman and Omar Abdurrahman as the best Al Ain have. "No one can argue against the great capabilities of Amer Abdurrahman. He's one of the best midfielders in the UAE. Personally, I like to play next Amer or Omar in one team. I'm sure these two players will tip the balance in favour of Al Ain next season."
Al Ain missing players include Khalid Eisa, Ismail Ahmed, Mohammed Ahmed, Mohanad Salem, Mohammed Abdulrahman, Amer Abdulrahman and Omar Abdulrahman.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com