El Jaish coach Nabil Malool (second right) addresses the pre-match press conference yesterday along with El Jaish player Khaled Abdulraouf (left). Pictures: Mamdouh 

By Joseph Koraith/Doha


Bench strength is a key word in football. With every player available, teams function to their full potential. But take away a few players, due to injury or suspension, and that is when the true character of the team comes through. Does the team have the replacements to carry on and keep up the fight? And that will be the story today when Qatar’s El Jaish take on Iran’s Foolad Khouzestan in the AFC Champions League group stage opener.
This Group B encounter being held at Doha’s Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium at 8pm today becomes an even more interesting affair because both teams are missing key players. El Jaish will be without the services of both their Brazilians – captain Anderson Martins and star striker Nilmar – due to injury. To add to that their Korea republic midfielder Ko Seul-ki is suspended for the match having picked up two yellow cards in the play-offs.
Foolad, too, will not be playing a full strength side with midfielder Mehdi Badrlou and defender Ayub Vali missing due to injuries.
El Jaish coach Nabil Malool is aware that it is not an ideal scenario but is looking forward to a strong performance from his team. “They are a strong team considering that they are leading their league standings back in Iran. It will be a difficult match for El Jaish but we will be looking to get three points and make a good start in the group stages,” Malool said during the pre-match press conference yesterday.
Foolad coach Hossein Faraki is also looking at his bench to stand up and deliver. “We will be missing the services of four of our key players but we have good bench strength. We have players of good calibre to replace the absentees. For any team to be consistently good it is important to have good bench strength,” said Faraki during the press conference yesterday.
While Foolad are missing their key players, El Jaish coach Malool is not taking the match lightly. “Foolad are a complete team although they don’t have great experience in this competition. They have talented players who play with great harmony.”
This match is crucial for El Jaish because they will be playing at home and the goals here will count in the business end. Similarly Foolad will be keen to get those away goals in their kitty but even a draw will suit them fine.
“In Iran there are a lot of teams wanting to be champions in the IPL. Since we are a strong team, many teams play against us looking for a draw. This is an away match for us so it is important for us to not lose. Even a draw here is a good result for us. But that doesn’t mean that we won’t be looking to win. We have to look to get three points from every match in the AFC Champions League if we are to progress,” said Foolad skipper Bakhtiar Rahmani.
“I have seen a few matches of El Jaish and they are a strong team. We are looking forward to the match and hopefully we can provide a fighting contest which the spectators can enjoy,” Rahmani added.
El Jaish player Khaled Abdulraouf said that it will be a tough match but his team was up for the challenge. “Foolad have a strong team with quite a few players who play for the Iranian national team. The match will be a tough one but we hope to come away with three points,” said Abdulraouf yesterday.
And inspiration for El Jaish comes from within Qatar. “In 2011 Al Sadd had won the AFC Champions League. We hope this time El Jaish will win and qualify for the Club World Cup,” he said.
Qatar also has two other teams who are playing in this group stage. In a Group A encounter, Al Rayyan will take on UAE’s Al Jazeera in an away match in Abu Dhabi today. Lekhwiya, in Group C start their campaign only on March 12.
Back to today’s clash. Two teams who will be looking to play safe, and at the same time to try and eke out maximum points. This should be an exciting contest. Foolad coach Faraki sums it up perfectly. “I expect the match between El Jaish and Foolad Khouzestan to be a keenly contested affair. We are currently the league leaders back in Iran (Iran Premier League) and El Jaish are second in the Qatar Stars League. In that sense, it will be a match between two giants.”