Al Wahda vs. Al Jazira. Pre-match Press Conference

Abu Dhabi: Feb. 29, 2024

Mirel Radoi, coach of Al Jazira team, urged his players to show strong character and a winning mentality in their next match against Al Wahda, and insisted this type of match requires sacrifice and the ability to suffer and to outperform the opponent, and put his trust in his team to show all these qualities in the Derby on Saturday night.

Here are some of his quotes during the pre-match press conference

Excitement of the Derby

“Of course, it's going to be big and exciting for the fans in the stadium and also in front of TVs, and it's more important for us because we want to recover from the last defeat against Al Nasr, and we want to prove to ourselves that we can compete and get results against all opponents, regardless of their rank in the table or their ambitions in this stage of the season. Derby matches require sacrifice, fighting spirit, and a strong mentality from the players to be willing to suffer and outperform the opponent, for me, mentality comes before talent, and I trust my team to show all these qualities against Al Wahda on Saturday night”.

Injuries and Fitness Update

“Abdullah Ramadan, Fernando Lucas, and Mohamed Al Attas will miss the derby as they are still recovering from injuries, and we are monitoring the situation of Khalifa Al Hammadi before deciding on putting him in the squad or not. This derby will be a very good opportunity for the players who haven’t started for the team since the beginning of this season, and it will present them a big chance to prove they can step up and help the team and they have what it takes to start for Al Jazira, and we will give them all the support to do so”.

Stepping up to the Reputation

“I don’t want to talk about the past or discuss what happened in the first half of this season because I wasn’t here, instead, I prefer to talk about the present and future, and I believe now is the best time to step up to the high expectations on Al Jazira as a club and a team. We have so many talented players but the results didn’t reflect this, and it's up to us now to win matches and get the results that match the reputation and the abilities of the team”.