Macala eyes club glory in AFC Champions League

ABU DHABI - Al Ain coach Milan Macala will have to call on all his coaching experience if he is to guide his side past Iran's Pas on Wednesday and into the last four of the AFC Champions League.

The inaugural winner of Asia's premier club competition faces anuphill task to advance in the tournament following the 1-1 draw in the United Arab Emirates in last Wednesday's first leg.

The away goal scored by the Iranians makes them narrow favorites to go through but Macala is not ready to concede defeat, especially as his side showed, when fighting back from a goal down, that they

are as determined as their coach to get their hands on the 500,000 US dollars and the place at the FIFA Club World Championship.

"I thought we played pretty well in the first leg," said the Czech, who is nine months into his job at Al Ain following spells as coach of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and, most recently, Oman.

"We produced the better chances and should have come away with a better scoreline than 1-1."

Pas, who qualified for the quarter-finals as Group A winner, dominated the first half and took a deserved lead when Arash Borhani latched onto a long pass to fire past Mutaz Abdulla in the Ain goal.

The visitors had chances to extend their lead but Al Ain found away back into the game when Mohammad Nosrati sliced the ball into his own net.

The dismissal of Pas keeper Hassan Roudbarian for handling outside his area left Pas fighting a rearguard effort for the remainder of the game. But they managed to hold on the draw till the final whistle.

"It means we need to score to go through," said Macala.

"If they choose to, our opponents have the luxury of being able to sit back and defend their lead while counter-attacking. It's clear we need to attack to score goals but a football match is not just about attacking or defending."

For Macala, coaching at club level is a new mission for his reputation has been built around successful spells as a national team coach in the Gulf region.

The Czech's finest hour was with Kuwait when it won back-to-back Gulf Cups in the mid 90s, closely followed by taking Oman, last year, to its first Asian Cup.

Macala's spell with Oman ended at the end of 2004 after its narrow failure to qualify for the final round of Asian World Cup qualifiers.

"I had a good experience in my two-and-half year tenure with Oman," the 62-year-old told footballasia.com.

"But after the Asian Cup, the Olympic and World Cup qualifiers, there wasn't going to be much international football for Oman so I decided to switch jobs."

Given Macala's gregarious and outgoing nature, the day-to-day involvement with players and his coaching staff is an obvious advantage of club coaching over running a national team.

"With national teams, there are always problems and difficulties with organization and preparation for tournaments," Macala explained.

"It requires time and efforts to get the whole team together, but with club football you have no such problems and you can always focus entirely on your work."

As someone whose career has benefited from accruing and amassing knowledge from various point on Planet Football, Macala knows too well that Asian teams will only improve by having the opportunity to play against strong opposition from around the world.

The FIFA Club Championship in December gives an Asian team the chance to do just but, for now, Macala is not thinking beyond Pas.