Al Jazira club defeats Al Rayyan

New Al Jazira coach Caio Junior said that the return to the Brazilian style of football has brought confidence back in the players and felt that they have the armoury to go all the way in the AFC Champions League. Defending League champions Al Jazira started their campaign in the Asian competition with an away win over Uzbekistan’s Nasaf and host Qatari club Al Rayyan in their second Group A fixture at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium tonight — kick-off 7.30pm. The first win came under Frank Vercauteren, who was fired later and Caio Junior is in charge now. Junior knows what life is like in the AFC Champions League, having coached Qatar club Al Gharafa previously and the Brazilian said Al Jazira could go all the way. “Over the sequence of matches, we have had time to improve the team. When I came here, I found a group which was not feeling happy. And now, the happiness is back. Such things do affect team performance. Al Jazira played three years in a tactical way with previous coach Abel Braga. “There was a change in coach but there was no adaptation to the new system. I do not mean that the previous coach (Vercauteren) did not work well. “He did not have time to implement his system well. Now, we are back to the Brazilian school which is simple for the players to understand. This gets the confidence back which is very important for them,” Junior said and added: “Now, is the time for a team from the UAE to have a great campaign in the AFC Champions League. Other teams are strong but we need to believe in our capabilities. It is possible for Al Jazira to reach the final.” And Junior assured the Al Jazira faithful that the team will get back to playing the high quality football they are known for. “I can guarantee the Al Jazira fans that we will get back to the high quality of football which was there during Braga,” he said. After a huge loss to Al Shabab in the Etisalat Cup semifinal, his first game in charge, Junior revealed that he had set a challenge to his players in the League game against Al Wasl. Al Jazira went on win the game by a solitary goal. “I told the players before the game against Al Wasl that we have a challenge to not let the ball go to the defence. This helped the confidence of the players at the back. Having said that, we can improve this aspect a lot more. Goals are bound to happen against us. You cannot stop that but we should reduce the number of goals conceded,” he said. Al Jazira will be bolstered by the return of their inspirational and influential captain and playmaker Ibrahim Diaky, from suspension. Junior said this is the first time he has had the full group at his disposal. “I believe Al Jazira will improve more and more over the coming games. I feel after the game against Al Wasl, the confidence was back in the players. We will also be strengthened by captain Ibrahim Diaky’s return. I’m aware of what I can do and what I can extract from them. This is the first time that I have a complete group available to me,” said Junior. “We have planned well for Tuesday’s game and we had some good training sessions. We also have the National and Olympic team players back in the team. And these players gave a good impression during training. I believe my team will improve more,” he added. About their opponents, Al Rayyan, Junior said: “I believe it will be an interesting match and a match of high quality. I have been following Al Rayyan and they have played well. When I was in Qatar, they always played very good matches. And both team’s players will be searching for goals. And Tuesday’s game would be the same. Al Rayyan are a stronger side than before. And they have developed, especially, in their attack. You have to respect your opponent.” Meanwhile, Al Jazira defender Saleh Abdulla Basheer said that their confidence was back and they will strive hard to do well in the AFC Champions League. “After the Al Wasl game, our confidence is back. We feel we can come up with a good and strong game on Tuesday. Al Jazira have played in the AFC Champions League before. But this year, we are the defending UAE Pro-League champions. And we will strive hard to achieve our goal which is to win the AFC Champions League,” said Basheer.