Head coach of Al Ahli Cosmin Olaroiu has revealed how he wanted to meet sworn rivals Al Ain in the next round of the Asian Champions League following his outfit’s resounding victory over Lokomotiv Tashkent in the final Group phase on Tuesday.
The 2015 Asian Champions League runners-up trounced the Uzbek side 4-0 to top Group A whiles arch rivals Al Ain repeated the dose in Group C by defeating another Uzbek outfit Bunyodkor 3-0 to sail through to the next stage of the competition.
Al Ahli will square off against their namesake from Saudi Arabia whiles Al Ain face Iran’s Esteghal Tehran in the round of 16 as they avoided an all-Emirati affair.
However, Al Ahli gaffer Cosmin Olaroiu, who formerly coached Al Ain says it was his wish to face their nemesis in the knockout round.
“If you ask me I prefer against Al Ain, but this would not be good for Emirates because one of the teams would go out,” the Romanian coach told The National Sport.
“Both teams are very good and both teams deserve to continue. I hope we’re going to have the chance to play against them in the semi-final and for sure one team would be in the final.”
The qualification to the round of 16 was Ahli’s second time in the club’s history.
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