Croatian Dragan Talajic, coach of the Bahraini national team, acknowledged the difficult situation his team is going through after the negative results in the Arabian Gulf Cup tournament (Gulf 27), bearing responsibility for the appearance that did not meet the aspirations of the fans, and stressing that facing Yemen will be his last in the current edition, but he hopes it will not be the last in his career with the national team.
Talajic said, during the press conference preceding the confrontation with Yemen: “I come here in a difficult situation given the results we presented, and despite that, we will focus on ourselves and try to provide the best.”
He added: “This will be my last match in this tournament, but it will not be my last with the national team. “The fans are not happy with our performance, and we want to provide a better level.”
The Croatian coach touched on the physical aspect, explaining: “The physical aspect needs analysis. I had positive thoughts about the players being able to play at this level, but we have to improve our football, we are not in the best position right now. “We have the skills, but we need to improve physically.”
Talajic took responsibility for some of the mistakes that occurred at the beginning of the tournament, saying: “In the first match against Qatar, I had six players who made big mistakes, but this is not their fault, because I did not provide them with sufficient information about the opponent they will face, and we have to learn from what happened.”
He continued: “We made some mistakes, and even some of what we talked about was wrong. I did not provide enough information to the players about their opponent. After the first match, we should have focused on ourselves and improved, but that did not happen, and we lost the second match.”
Regarding his future with the Bahraini national team, he said: “I do not know if this tournament will be my last. “I have an agreement with the national team, and I hope it will not be the last.”
Talajic stressed the need to review what happened in the tournament, saying: “We will leave this tournament with negative results, and we must change that in the future.” Our situation is difficult, but that does not mean that we do not have the capabilities. We have to choose the best way to change, and the players must show their best to prove their ability to represent the national team.”
He pointed out that the team lacked the spirit it showed during its coronation in the last edition, adding: “We should have appeared in a more positive spirit, as we did in the last edition.” We must also understand the circumstances and difficulties, including the fact that the players entered the tournament without playing any matches in the league.
The Bahrain coach concluded his speech by saying: “Bahrain deserves a lot, and I am not happy with the current situation. The players must prove that they are capable of representing the Bahraini national team, and we did not represent the national team in the best possible way in this tournament, and I am responsible for that.”
Spaniard Julian Lopetegui, coach of the Qatari national team, stressed the importance of focusing on the minute details in the match against the Emirates in the final round of the group stage of the Arabian Gulf Cup (Gulf 27), pointing out that the lack of time between matches requires the technical staff to carefully manage the players’ readiness.
Lopetegui said during the press conference: “The UAE national team is one of the most prominent candidates, but we have to focus on ourselves and pay attention to the minute details. "We don't have much time to prepare, but we must be ready."
The Qatar coach stressed the need not to be preoccupied with facing the semi-finals before ending the group stage, saying: “We must focus on facing the UAE first before thinking about the semi-finals. I want to prepare some of the players who did not participate and give them playing minutes. It is important that all players be fully prepared, and that we be close to them to protect them from injuries.”
Regarding the possibility of attending the confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, which is being held near the headquarters of the Qatari national team’s training session, Lopetegui said: “I love football, and of course I will follow the match because I love football, but my focus will be on my national team, and at the same time I want to obtain all the information about the two teams.”
In response to Asharq Al-Awsat’s question about Akram Afif’s positioning in a different way deep in the attack, after he was accustomed to playing a greater role in playmaking, Lopetegui said: “Akram Afif made a number of sacrifices by playing in this position, and he is a player who can score, and we succeeded in creating many opportunities. “I am happy with his performance and the performance of the rest of the players, and I am not worried about his position deep in the field. What is most important for us is maintaining team play.”
For his part, Hassan Al-Haydos, captain of the Qatari national team, confirmed that the lack of time imposed different preparations before facing the Emirates, and said: “We prepared well, and the third match in the combined tournaments does not have much time to prepare before it. We had a recovery session, and we are seeking to develop ourselves during the last training session.”
Al-Haydos spoke about the historical confrontations with the Emirati national team, saying: “The Emirati national team is renewed, but our confrontations against them are always difficult. When I started with the Qatari team, there was the generation of Ismail Matar, then the generation of Ali Mabkhout and Omar Abdul Rahman, and the UAE always has a renewed team. Our biggest focus will be on ourselves and implementing the coach’s instructions.”
Al-Haydos denied thinking about ending his international career, saying: “I did not think about retiring.” When a player loses passion and desire, then he will retire. “I started playing tennis when I was eight years old, but my passion for football led me to it.”
Croatian Zlatko Dalic, coach of the UAE national team, confirmed that his team will play for victory against Qatar, despite ensuring qualification to the semi-finals of the Arabian Gulf Cup (Gulf 27), indicating that he will give the opportunity to a number of players who did not participate during the previous confrontations.
Dalic said, during the press conference preceding the confrontation: “We have some fatigue, but we will strive for victory. Cesar suffered an injury, and this represents a problem for us, because he is a special player, and he will not participate tomorrow. When you play a match every three days, it is difficult, so I will give an opportunity to a number of players who did not participate.”
The Croatian coach stressed the importance of the confrontation despite the qualification being decided, saying: “We are playing in a big tournament like the Gulf Cup, and we realize the importance of the tournament and the match. I told the players that there is no need to motivate you, as everyone understands the importance of confrontation. “I want to win, and the team wants to win too.”
Dalic expressed his happiness with the atmosphere inside the UAE national team camp, explaining: “We live in a wonderful atmosphere among the players, and there is solidarity and motivation, and we feel that we are one family. “I enjoy working with this group, and it is a new experience for me, but after only 10 days of work, it has become very wonderful.”
He added: “I expected that we would reach this level after six months, but the good news is that we reached it within a short period.”
Regarding the potential competitor in the semi-finals, Dalic said: “We are following the teams of Group A, and I will watch the confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iraq. I do not want to make advance calculations, as all teams are strong, and in the semi-finals we will face a team that participated in the World Cup.”
In response to Asharq Al-Awsat’s question about the possibility of changing his plan against Qatar based on the result of the match between Saudi Arabia and Iraq that precedes the confrontation with his national team, he said: “No, I will not change my plan, as this is not my style. We will stick to our plan and see what happens, and if you want to become a champion, you have to win against any team.”
For his part, Ali Saleh, the UAE national team player, stressed the players’ desire to end the group stage on a positive note, saying: “We want to deliver a performance that satisfies the Emirati fans and achieve victory, and we have a great focus on the confrontation.”
