DUBAI // Catalin Raducan, Al Ahli’s assistant coach, says the club’s crammed schedule is taking its toll on his players but he is confident it will not affect this season’s quest for trophies.
The Arabian Gulf League leaders host fourth-placed Sharjah on Thursday night looking to extend the gap at the top to nine points, with Al Shabab, their closest competitors in the table, playing on Friday.
The Sharjah clash is Ahli's fifth fixture in 15 days as they continue to fight on four fronts, with the Dubai club set to compete in both the League Cup and President's Cup finals.
Ahli are also three matches into their Asian Champions League campaign, in which they sit second.
The next month will be crucial to Ahli’s hopes of lifting their first top-flight trophy in five years, with third-placed Al Jazira and Shabab to come in two of their next three league matches immediately following Sharjah’s trip to the Rashid Stadium.
Acknowledging the importance of this period, Raducan has called on his players to again raise their performance to end the season on a high.
“I know the players have suffered exhaustion and fatigue, but it’s necessary to exert maximum effort to achieve our goal and that they give their best to win what they deserve,” Raducan said.
“This season we have not had any difficulties in motivating the players; they have been enthusiastic from the beginning.
“But we have not achieved anything yet. There has been fatigue there for a month and a half and we have to make a huge effort to resolve things in our favour during this current phase.”
Ahli will have to be at their best against a Sharjah side boasting the division’s tightest defence, although, in Grafite and Ciel, the hosts possess the league’s most prolific partnership. Together the strike duo have contributed 26 of the club’s 41 goals.
Ahli have plenty in reserve, too, with Ahmed Khalil, Ismail Al Hammadi and Luis Jimenez chipping in with vital strikes during the past few matches. That collective spirit, Raducan said, should lead to an ultimately successful season.
“It’s difficult to play this busy programme with 11 players, along with the injuries and suspensions, but we go onto the pitch as one family,” he said. “Any player we use offers his maximum to the cause and, when one of our family is injured, the other comes in and gives 100 per cent for the team.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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