‘Proud’ Milos Milojevic wants to repay Al Wasl fans’ faith by making AFC Champions League finals phase

Manager grateful for show of support by the Ultras Junoon ahead of their loss to Saudi giants Al Hilal

Al Wasl manager Milos Milojevic. Pawan Singh / The National

Milos Milojevic might have been forgiven for suffering from an inferiority complex at Zabeel Stadium on Tuesday evening.

In the opposition dugout was Jorge Jesus, the lavishly remunerated coach who led Al Hilal to a record-breaking season last term, and who has one of Asia’s most loaded squads at his disposal.

In the stand behind him sat Herve Renard, the much-loved coach of the Saudi Arabian national team.

Even Paulo Bento was there. The Portuguese coach has become rather well appreciated himself having overseen the UAE’s 5-0 thrashing of Qatar in the most recent round of World Cup qualifying.

Life for Milojevic, by contrast, has become a struggle. His Al Wasl side have fallen short of the excellence that had become their standard in winning a domestic double last season.

They have muddled through to the next round of the AFC Champions League, with a tie to come against Al Sadd of Qatar next. It has become clear, especially when faced with Saudi opposition, that they are trying to fight against tanks when armed only with pea-shooters.

Judged by the reception he got ahead of kick off against Hilal, though, there are few managers going around with a higher approval rating than Milojevic.

The Ultras Junoon, the Wasl fans who pride themselves on being the most creative club around when it comes to pre-match choreography, excelled themselves again.

Their tifo was a tribute to the manager. It included a handmade painting of Milojevic, which drew a broad smile from the man himself, as well as the Serbian word “Continuity” spelled out in Cyrillic script in the stand.

There was also a separate sign in the manager’s native language, on a Serbian flag, which emphasised their backing for the manager.

Milojevic was bashful about the display, but grateful. “I gasped when I saw this,” he said after a 2-0 loss to Hilal.

“This is not usually done with coaches. I would prefer they would emphasise the importance of the team and players.

“On one hand I am very proud and very happy, but on the other it puts a lot of responsibility and pressure on me. I have a very competitive mindset and when I see something like that, it feels like it puts everything on my back.

“Thanks to God, I am at my best when there is a lot of pressure. I hope we can make them more happy, because tonight we didn’t win. But I am proud, and feel a lot of responsibility to rise to a big challenge.

“Last year they had put [a display] saying: ‘You are standing in front of big heritage.’ I saw how it was written, in Cyrillic, and this one was about continuity.”

Initially, Wasl’s players responded courageously to the backing of their fans. Playing against arguably Asia’s leading side at present, they hit the post twice – first through Caio Canedo, then Fabio Da Lima – in a rapid start to the game.

Marcos Leonardo bundled home from a yard out to open the scoring for Hilal after 13 minutes, and the away side gradually brought their power to bear.

Wasl’s chances of a comeback were ended at the start of the second half when Salem Al Dawsari tapped in Hilal’s second.

Da Lima lashed a shot against the crossbar straight after, and Joao Pedro later had the ball in the net but for Wasl it was ruled out for offside.

The 2-0 loss was the second in recent weeks to a star-laden Saudi opposition. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice when they lost 4-0 to Al Nassr earlier in the month, but Milojevic was cheered by his side’s endeavour against Hilal.

“For 30 minutes we played football over the level that we have shown this year,” Milojevic said.

“We played football that, personally, I like. Now my headache is how to get players to play like this every game in the league, the cup, and in the upcoming games in the Champions League.”

The result meant Wasl finished fifth in the opening round. That means they will face Al Sadd, the Qatari side with whom they drew in the group phase, in the last 16.

The winners of that will advance to the new, eight-team finals phase of the Champions League, to be played in Jeddah from April 25 to May 4.

“They signed a player [Brazilian forward Claudinho] from Zenit [St Petersburg] recently which has made a big impact on a team that was already good and well organised,” Milojevic said of Al Sadd. “They have played a long time together and they know how to play.

“It is very simple: if we want to win and go through to the final tournament, we need to play two top games. Games on the level of the Super Cup final, and then I would say five percent more.”