As one door shuts, another one opens.
Al Ain, hands almost pried from the Arabian Gulf League title last Thursday, shift focus to the Asian Champions League, a welcome break from domestic disappointment, a much-needed respite from the fallout to that championship-defining defeat to Al Ahli.
Silver linings are difficult to extract from the rubble of an unsuccessful league defence, but Al Ain can now move forward, free from the pressure of retaining their UAE crown, and concentrate solely on their quest to keep alive on the continent.
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Win against Nasaf in Uzbekistan on Tuesday and Al Ain are guaranteed a top-two finish in Group D. With it, they will advance to the knockout stages. No looking back, full steam ahead.
Last year, Al Ain exited the President’s Cup and the Champions League in the blink of an eye, four days separating their cup defeat to Al Nasr and the fraught second-leg, last-16 continental clash with compatriots Ahli.
By then, they had already clinched a 12th league crown, but the campaign still felt like it had soured a little. Zlatko Dalic remarked at the time that perhaps his side let slip their concentration, that the domestic glory had caused his players, however unintentionally, to take their collective eye of the ball.
Now, though, they can fix focus firmly on qualifying for the Champions League knockout rounds. No distractions, nothing to cloud judgment or sap energy. With the Arabian Gulf League title to all intents and purposes gone, and the President’s Cup not resuming until mid-May, Al Ain have what may be considered a free run.
Granted, three rounds remain in the league, but it would not surprise if Dalic tinkers with his team, allows those younger, more inexperienced players the chance to stake a claim. After all, the champions face three of the bottom four clubs and the title race could be over by the time they meet Fujairah in the division’s penultimate set of fixtures.
So the Champions League assumes priority. Al Ain should have too much for Nasaf and, if they return home with a win and leaders El Jaish fail to defeat Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli – an admittedly unlikely scenario given Ahli’s crucial domestic match against Al Hilal next Sunday – they can even set sights on topping the group.
It would go some way to healing the wounds of last Thursday, some way to appeasing their supporters, some way to easing the strain on Dalic and the club board. Al Ain could end the season with a Champions League quarter-final to look forward to.
For as their Arabian Gulf League defence slams shut, another opportunity opens.
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