Athletes have identified six obstacles facing the Emirates Clubs path with the resumption of the AFC Champions League, and they have prevented them from returning with cards to qualify for the second round of the tournament.
The Asian Championship matches for West Asian clubs will resume on September 14th, as each team will play four games, before the rest of the championship roles will be played from one match.
They said to «Emirates Today»: «The abolition of the Arab Gulf League will affect negatively the presence of the four teams in physical terms, in addition to the changes that occurred in them, whether at the level of foreign players or coaches», pointing out that «the weak period of preparation, and the absence of external camps , May affect the readiness required for this type of tournament, as well as the lack of experience of clubs in dealing with the combined tournaments ».
They made it clear that "the modest tally of Emirati football representatives in the continental championship (Shabab Al-Ahly, Al-Ain, Al-Wahda and Sharjah) in the first two rounds of the group league will increase the difficulty of the Asian mission, with the exception of unity, which may make the mission almost impossible", stressing also the "influence of players from Psychological aspect of the (Corona) pandemic, and their fear of playing games outside the state ».
Al-Wahda occupies the second place in the first group ranking with four points, while Al-Ahly and Al-Ain youth did not get any points in the second and fourth groups respectively, and Sharjah won an orphan point in the third, after only two rounds of the championship passed.
For his part, the former general supervisor of the ball in Baniyas Club, sports analyst Dr. Ahmed Al-Awadi, expressed his hope that the Corona pandemic would not be a “peg” that Emirati clubs commented on its failure in the AFC Champions League, and said: “The follower of the preparations of the four clubs linked to my league The Asian champions are convinced that it is not enough at all to confirm their readiness to fight this strong battle that awaits them next September.
He explained: «There are clubs that dispensed with their coaches, and others dispensed with important players, without being able to prepare alternatives until now, and this matter will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the required readiness that enables them to overcome the group stage stage, and serious competition for the title of the championship in which we have lost On reaching the final rounds since 2016 ».
He continued: “We surprised Sharjah by dispensing Ryan Mendes, despite the importance of this player to the team and his prominent role technically with the king in the previous two seasons, and his departure will not be in the interest of Sharjah as an Asian.” He added: “I regret the delay of unity, which is the closest Emirati team that has the chances to overcome The group stage, in contracting with a new coach despite the start of the preparation period, and perhaps the only positive point in the contract with Dutch coach Mark Fota, that he has a background in the local and Asian ball, but I see that it is very short time to prepare the team as required, and that the club was unable to "Signing players who can compensate for the absence of Tigali as a striker with high capabilities."
He continued: «The same thing applies to both Sharjah and Al Ain, as the latter has not yet been able to conclude strong deals at the level of foreign players, and its negotiations with some names are being hampered in a way that will not serve the team that did not achieve any victory in the first and second rounds of the championship, which imposes He has to win the remaining rounds. ”
"Al-Ahly youth may be relatively better than the rest of the clubs despite its endeavors to contract with foreign players, because it includes an excellent group of citizen players, who excel in terms of experience from their counterparts in Al-Ain, Sharjah and Al-Wahda, but they also need a lot of work to overcome the group league stage." .
In turn, Khalid Obaid, the former general supervisor of the football team at Al-Nasr Club, said: “The preparation period will not help Emirati clubs in any way to achieve the expected results in the AFC Champions League.”
He added: «There are several difficulties that our clubs will face to achieve the required appearances in the AFC Champions League, foremost of which are the stages of preparation expected to be within the country, and it will not help to increase physical fitness levels due to the hot climates in that period, as well as technically for the difficulty of competing in friendly matches On a high level, as happens in the foreign camps. ”
He continued: «There are other difficulties represented in the contracts expected before the completion of the continental championship, which will not be able to harmonize required, given the limited time between the clubs’ clubs and the return of the Asian Championship’s activity.
He explained that "completing the AFC Champions League with the combined system will not help our local clubs, because they are not accustomed to this system of tournaments, and the four teams do not have enough experience in dealing with pressed matches."
As for the previous member of the Board of Directors of the Football Association, Dr. Salim Al-Shamsi, he stressed that «the poor results achieved by the local clubs in the first two rounds, will increase the difficulty of its mission except for the unit that succeeded in collecting four points, which is a positive balance that can help Al-Annabi to qualify».
He said: "The four teams are expected to bid farewell to the competitions, because they will complete the continental competition and they have been discontinued from football activity for six months. I do not imagine that two official matches in the Arab Gulf Cup or the League championship are sufficient to prepare our clubs as required."
Ranking of Emirati clubs in the group stage
Unit: second place (4 points), on goal difference from Al-Ahly Jeddah.
Shabab Al-Ahly: third place without points.
Al-Ain: The last place in the fourth group with no points.
Sharjah: the last position of the third group with one point.
Constraints facing clubs in the Asian Championship
1- A long way away from the matches after the cancellation of the Arab Gulf League.
2- The changes that occurred to the teams, including foreign players and coaches.
3- The weak period of preparation, and the absence of running in external camps.
4- Lack of club experience in dealing with the combined championships.
5- The humble toll of the local quartet in the first two rounds.
6- The players were affected psychologically by the Corona pandemic.