Sektioui challenges the UAE: criticise me alone, everyone expected Oman to go out
Football is a school for life
Morocco's Tarik Sektioui, head coach of Oman, threw down the gauntlet ahead of Saturday's clash with the UAE at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in the semi-final of the Arabian Gulf Cup "Gulf 27". His side, he insisted, are ready mentally and physically for the eagerly awaited encounter.
Sektioui said during the press conference: "We are ready mentally, physically and in terms of fitness for the match, and we still have one final training session. The players will take to the pitch with their hearts and minds set on the Omani people, in order to make them happy."
He added: "Everyone was expecting Oman to go out, but football for me is a school of life that goes beyond the boundaries of the green rectangle, and every day it gives us lessons related to matters bigger than football."
Criticism, he insisted, belonged at his door. "Anyone who wants to criticise should direct it at me. As for the players, they are doing wonderful work. Omani football gives players, compared to others, a great desire to overcome difficulties. We have players with experience, and others who are young in age and should not be subjected to criticism."
Respect for the UAE ran through his words. "We do not underestimate ourselves, and at the same time we respect the opponent. The UAE for us is like all the teams we face. A semi-final speaks for itself, and over 90 minutes there are no big differences between the two teams."
Oman's coach revealed the gains his side have made during the tournament. "The Oman national team is benefiting a great deal from this tournament, and is appearing in a stronger light despite the difficulties. I say it clearly: the Oman national team is growing at Gulf 27."
Nothing about it was down to luck, he argued. "The Oman national team is known in the Gulf and in Asia, and what it has reached did not come by chance, but as the result of planning that lasted for years in order to build a team for the future, and it has now reached a stage of maturity."
He also knows his semi-final opponents well. "I have previously faced the UAE national team in the Arab Cup, and I also know the UAE league. The current UAE national team is not the previous team, as it has undergone major changes, even at the level of the coaching staff."
The Oman boss pointed out that the UAE had used their final group match to rotate, resting players for the semi-final clash.
An Iraqi journalist closed the conference with an apology for comments from some Iraqi media outlets after the last match. Sektioui replied warmly: "I salute the brotherly Iraqi people, for they are a beautiful and refined people. Football is a game that brings peoples together, and when the final whistle is blown everything ends."
