ABU DHABI // Abel Braga, the Al Jazira coach, is desperate for a consolation prize having failed to win any silverware in his two years in the UAE. His club were runners-up in the Pro League, made a semi-final exit in the President's Cup and failed to go beyond the group stage of the Asian Champions League (ACL). Winning tonight's Etisalat Cup final would be some comfort for his efforts with the Abu Dhabi club, who have never won a major trophy.
Braga admitted the expectations among the team's supporters were naturally high as they are the favourites to win the match against relegated Ajman at Al Nasr Club's Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai. "Everybody thinks we have already won the final," said the Brazilian. "Of course we are the favourites, but in football anything is possible. We must not take anything for granted. And don't forget, Emirate [the other relegated club this season] won the President's Cup against Al Shabab.
"It has been another frustrating season for us and this cup will be some consolation after we failed to win a trophy in the two domestic competitions and the ACL. Indeed we want to win this trophy for our fans and end the season on a high." Jazira's campaign was marred by injuries to Braga's two most expensive signings. Ricardo Oliveira, the Pro League's costliest player at Dh85 million, missed the entire second half of the season, and Rafael Sobis, the Dh62m buy last season, only returned from a serious injury for the second half of their campaign.
"Injuries are part of the game and we can't use that as an excuse," added Braga. "I am happy with the whole squad and their contributions whenever required. We will play the best line-up and I am happy Tony [the Ivorian striker] is back having recovered fully from a leg injury. "Ajman have been a bit of hindrance to us. I won't forget, it was them who ruined our chances last season with a 1-1 home draw and this year they did the same when they played out another 1-1 draw for their first league point in 10 games.
"So we have a score to settle with them. Sometimes I wonder why it's only against us [that they achieve good results]. It's not easy to take a point away from a team like Jazira and therefore we need to compliment them for coming up with such good performances." Ajman will certainly draw inspiration from their neighbours Emirate, from Ras Al Khaimah. They have done some serious preparation by holding a three-day camp in Qatar.
"The camp was to get the team together and I would like to think it has been greatly beneficial," said Ghazi Gharriri, the Tunisian coach, who took charge of Ajman midway thought the season. "This game is the most important for us as we won't have another opportunity until we return to the Pro League. We had a very poor start [to the season] losing the first nine league games, but we did pretty well towards latter stages, losing most of the games by narrow margins.
"We have a pretty good record against Jazira, having drawn the first game and losing the away game 2-1 after leading at the break. So we are hopeful and maybe third time lucky against them." apassela@thenational.ae