AL AIN // After reaching the quarter finals of the Asian Champions League with a resounding 6-2 aggregate win over Esteghlal, Al Ain will look to replenish their squad following news of the imminent departures of foreign players Lee Myung-joo, Nasser Al Shamrani and Danilo Asprilla.
South Korean defender Lee leaves after three years to return home to complete his national service, striker Al Shamrani is set to return to his native Saudi Arabia with parent club Al Hilal after serving a six-month loan and Colombian winger Asprilla is expected to move to China.
Aside from Lee's departure, Al Ain had not confirmed Al Shamrani or Asprilla's futures at the club, but Omar Abdulrahman, the Al Ain captain, revealed the trio's exit following the 6-1 thrashing of Esteghlal of Iran at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on Monday.
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“I want to thank Nasser, Lee and Asprilla for their contributions to the team and our qualification to the next round of the ACL,” Abdulrahman said.
“Without them we wouldn’t have been in this position at the end of season. We have a break now and the technical committee and board will be evaluating the players as well as the team’s overall performance.
“We have confidence in the players the management will be choosing and on whom they have chosen before. We will now take a break and return with the new foreign signings.”
Al Ain bounced back from a goal down in the away leg to thrash Esteghlal in the return encounter.
Caio, the Brazilian forward, scored twice in the first half to set the platform for the home side.
Abdulrahman was on target twice after the break while Lee and Al Shamrani got one each before the visitors pulled one back through Kaveh Razaei seven minutes from time.
“It was the best match Al Ain played in the entire season,” Al Ain manager Zoran Mamic said. “The players showed great character and concentration from the start until the final whistle.
“For us, everything went as per our plan in this game. I was confident in the ability of my team. They played a big game in Tehran in front of around 65,000 Esteghlal fans.
“They raised the level in the return leg for an impressive win. This performance is their true potential.
“The players now deserve a good break and then we will work ahead for the next phase and do what is best to get strong results.”
Abdulrahman paid tribute to the Al Ain fans, with barely any spare seats in the 22,700-capacity stadium.
“I want to thank the fans for their support on the night and the support they have extended to us throughout the season,” he said.
“I’m also happy that we managed to win the game for them and to take our place in the quarter-finals of the continental championship.
“In Tehran, we didn’t deserve to lose. But one mistake cost us the game. We went into the home game with confidence. Honestly speaking, we expected to win but didn’t expect to win by such a big margin.”
Al Ain, last year’s losing finalists, now wait for the quarter-final draw to discover their next opponents.
“All the teams in the last eight stage will be tough,” Abdulrahman said.
“Yet, we are hopeful of going all the way. Obviously, our focus will be on the next game and our next opponent.”
apassela@thenational.ae
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