The Arab Gulf League clubs begin a new journey in the AFC Champions League, today, the most important tournament in the level of football tournaments in the «yellow continent», without explicitly revealing its goal in the title competition, although they know since the end of last season that they You will participate in the AFC Champions League.

Four clubs are represented by Emirati football: Sharjah (the champion of the league), Shabab Al-Ahli (champion of the President’s Cup), Al-Wahda (third league), and Al-Ain (fourth league).

Representatives of the four clubs confirmed to "Emirates Today" that "the main goal is to qualify for the round of 16 first, and to think about the continental competition according to the results of each team and the stage that has reached it."

The return of Sharjah

For his part, the coach of the Sharjah team, Abdulaziz Al-Anbari, confirmed that "Sharjah is returning to participate in the AFC Champions League, after having missed it for a long time since its last participation in 2009." He hoped that his team would appear well in this tournament, stressing that the competition Ascending to the next round in this tournament is a legitimate ambition for Sharjah, and for all the participating teams.

Al-Anbari told «Emirates Today»: “I wish all the Emirati teams participating in this tournament to appear in an honorable manner, and a good representation of the Emirati football in this Asian event.”

And about his plans in Sharjah Club to deal with the Asian Championship matches in the group stage, Al-Anbari said: “Every match for Sharjah in this tournament is important for us and we will deal with it with special accounts, and we will strive to provide everything we can in order to appear well, and in football, the most important in Every match is giving on the field, and we are fully aware that the competition will not be easy because every team aspires to rise to the next round in the tournament. ”

The Asian Championship draw, which was recently withdrawn, placed Sharjah in the third group that includes alongside it the Saudi, Iranian, Peruvian and Al-Dahil Qatari teams.

It is noteworthy that Sharjah withdrew from the first round of the Asian Championship in 2009, due to the difficult conditions it was facing at that time, as it was threatened with relegation to the First Division, and was subjected to severe penalties from the Asian Football Confederation, which included major financial fines and suspension About participating in the tournament for two years.

The "priority" of Al-Ahly youth

For his part, Al-Ahly's youth coach, Argentine Rodolfo Aruabarina, confirmed that his team places the AFC Champions League among its priorities this season, indicating that the team will deal with each match separately, stressing that it is not possible to think about the exclusionary roles before the team skips Mainly the group stage.

“Playing in the AFC Champions League is very different from the local competitions,” Arobarina told Emirates Today. I had previously participated with Al Wasl in the continental championship in 2018, and certainly the levels of clubs and match coordination are quite different in the AFC Champions League, especially since the actual number of minutes of play in the continental championship is more than league matches, and the strength of matches and the concentration of competing clubs impose on league clubs The Arab Gulf offers everything it has ».

He added: “Al-Ahly youths are running the championship after the absence of the last two copies, and certainly we hope to appear well, as Dubai Knights focuses on all tournaments, and it is not possible to prefer local tournaments over its participation in the AFC Champions League, especially since playing at the continental level matters to all Clubs, and any team that wishes to participate in the best tournament for clubs on the continent level.

The unit is optimistic

The General Supervisor of the first football team in Al-Wahda Club, Abdul Salam Jumaa, expressed his optimism with the emergence of «Al-Annabi» in the current version of the AFC Champions League.

He said, to «Emirates Today»: «We have great ambitions in the Asian Championship this year, we will enter the competitions and we are at the height of our technical and moral readiness as well, after a series of positive results that we came out in the local league, I think that this will reflect positively on everyone, whether players or The technical staff, and also the audience that we consider to be the first player on the team. ”

He added: “What enhances our confidence in the optimal appearance of unity in the AFC Champions League, and the presence of a constellation of experienced players alongside young players. The work of the football company’s management during the winter transfers contributed to the confusion of the players in the team, and I imagine that they have arrived For a very good stage of harmony required, we hope that they will continue at the same level in the AFC Champions League. ”

He continued: «I would also like to pay tribute to the work of the technical staff led by the Spanish Manuel Jimenez, he did a good job in the last period and improved the team with the required image, to restore the unit to its natural place in the front of the league, it has already done a great job, we thank him for it.

Abdel Salam Jumaa stressed that the ambition of their Excellencies is to move beyond the group stage stage and reach the exclusionary roles as a first step that we are working to achieve.

He explained: "It is important that we deal with the continental championship step by step, and we do not think about any stage before we pass the other. We have six games that we will play in the group stage, and we must score the largest number of points during them to ensure qualification, and after that each event will be modern."

Al-Ain ... writing history

In turn, Al Ain team player, Caio Canedo, said that they hope to achieve the happy end of their current participation in the AFC Champions League, but they must first focus in each match separately to win it in order to continue the competition, indicating that the history of «leader» in the tournament The continent he achieved in 2003 obliges him to repeat that achievement again.

"The club officials understand the importance of competition in the continental title, and that will make them as players required to provide the best and strongest performance in every match they play," Caio told Emirates Today, indicating that he knows the history of Al Ain well, and realizes the size of aspirations set by the fans. They have to return the title to Dar Al-Zein, after the previous two attempts in 2005 and 2016. ”

The Al Ain team player indicated that they hope to overcome the fever of beginnings, when they start their journey in the group stage of the AFC Champions League against Iran’s Sephan, stressing that the tie that ended their match against Sharjah in the Arab Gulf League will not cast a shadow over their performance in the face of Tuesday, due to the difference The great between the two competitions.

The player who is playing his first season with Al Ain coming from Al Wasl: «There is a big difference between the local and continental tournaments, and among the differences is that the match referees do not stop the game for minor irregularities, which requires increased focus and speed from the players, to keep pace with the course of the meeting.

The 4 groups of clubs

The first group: Unity, Iraqi police, Al-Ahly Saudi, and Iranian independence.

Group Two: Shabab Al-Ahly, Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia, Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan, and Iranian Shaher Khodro

The third group: Sharjah, Saudi cooperation, the Qatari Duhail, and the Iranian Peruvian.

Fourth group: Al Ain, Sephan, Iran, Qatari Dam, and Saudi Al Nasr.

History of posts

Eye

Posts: 17.

Best achievement: Champion, 2003.

Last Post: 2019 (Role

Groups).

Unit

Posts: 13.

Best achievement: Semifinals 2007.

Last post: 2019 (round of 16).

Ahly youth

Posts: 7.

Best achievement: 2015 (second place).

Last post 2017 (round of 16).

Sharjah

Posts: 5.

Best achievement: 2004 Round of Eight.

Last Post: 2009 (Withdrawal

From the group stage).

Sharjah returns to participate in the AFC Champions League after being absent from it since 2009.