ABU DHABI // Saleh Obaid, the Al Jazira captain, is set to reclaim his place in the team for the first time in eight months on Sunday in the Etisalat Emirates Cup.
The left wing-back suffered a hairline fracture to his left leg in the second half of last season, but is now ready to return to action.
The cup matches begin tonight with a three-match card, while Obaid will take to the pitch tomorrow when Jazira, the defending champions, are at home to Dubai's Al Shabab at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium. "It's a real nice feeling to return to the first-team line-up [for the first time] in more than eight months," Obaid said. "It will allow the technical staff to assess my game and fitness, and hopefully I can work my way back to a regular place in the first-team line-up."
While the early rounds of the cup are seen as an opportunity for coaches to give squad players a run out, Obaid considers the tournament as important as the other two domestic competitions, the Pro League and the President's Cup. "Winning the Etisalat Cup last season was a massive consolation prize for a club that had never won a significant domestic trophy. We were runners-up in the league for the third time, and it was some relief at the end to have won one of the three trophies.
"We take every competition seriously and to retain the Etisalat Cup is also on our priority list. We are hopeful of winning more than one title this season, and it's high time we did so. "Our league record has been remarkable in the last two seasons. We lost only two games in 2008/09, one in 2009/10, and have nine points in five starts this season. So that's how it stands, 47 league games and three defeats, up to now."
Obaid was not alone in wanting to win all three trophies for the club. He was joined by Ibrahim Diaky, the stand-in captain, and Bare, the Brazilian striker, when they were presented to the media on Thursday. "It is the vision of the club chairman, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, to make Jazira the best club, not only in the country but in Asia," Diaky, the two-goal hero in their last league game when they beat Baniyas 4-0, said.
"As a team, our focus is on winning games, and with every game we're improving. Every time we take to the field we are confident and we believe we can perform. We will be pushing for the trophies and we are not just focusing on one trophy. We want to win all three this season." Bare, who moved to Jazira after spending two season with Dubai's Al Ahli, has been disappointing so far. He has yet to score in five league games and was substituted against Baniyas in the last match.
The Brazilian scored twice in a 7-0 win over Ras al Khaimah, the first division club, in the President's Cup opener three weeks ago. He is hoping for a similar return tomorrow. "I am 100 per cent confident in my work," Bare said. "The time will come when I start scoring again. Perhaps, the cup games will provide the opportunity." "But for the moment, it is important for me to be in the line-up. I'm working hard for the team.
"It is the team's results that are most important to me, not whether or not I am the best striker in the league. "If we are winning trophies as a team, there is no issue."
Fixtures
Saturday
5.10pm: Kalba v Al Ahli
5.15pm: Al Nasr v Baniyas
5.20pm: Al Wahda v Al Ain
Sunday
5.15pm: Sharjah v Al Wasl
5.15pm: Dubai v Al Dhafra
8.00pm: Al Jazira v Al Shabab