Why Zacch should attack from the start

ADELAIDE: You only get one chance to make a first impression, and for newly appointed UAE coach Alberto Zaccheroni it is crucial the first impression he makes over the next two weeks is a strong and positive one.
After the departure of Mahdi Ali, there was wild speculation regarding who would fill the hot seat. In the end, Argentine Edgardo Bauza was a largely uninspired choice, and in his short spell in charge that is how it played out, with Bauza largely sticking with the same group of players, leaving everyone underwhelmed with the direction the team was headed.
With Bauza moving to Saudi Arabia after they let go of Bert Van Marwijk, the UAE had a chance to reset. It was a blessing in disguise. In golfing terms they were handed a mulligan.
So for them, just as much as Zaccheroni, they need the Italian’s first matches in charge to set the Emirates on a clear path forward, with the AFC Asian Cup on home soil looming on the horizon just 14 months away.
Make no mistake; this is a trophy he is expected to challenge for and even win. On home soil they have to perform well. No ifs, buts or maybes.
We will get an idea of the direction Zaccheroni, the former coach of Japan who guided the Samurai Blue to the 2011 AFC Asian Cup title, is headed when he names his first squad next week.
With star playmaker Omar Abdulrahman beset with injury, playing just one game this season back in September, and star strikers Ali Mabkhout and Ahmed Khalil also sidelined with knocks for the past few weeks, in terms of shaking things up his hand may be forced.
Does he opt for experience in the form of Al Wahda’s 34-year-old veteran Ismail Matar, someone who has been there and done that? Or does he really shake things up and put faith in someone like 22-year-old Al-Jazira star Khalfan Mubarak, who has scored twice for the defending champions in the opening six matches, picking up from where he left off last season when he was named the league’s best young player?
It is the type of move that would send a strong signal, not only to the rest of the team who had became far too comfortable under Mahdi Ali, but to the fans of the national team that, under Zaccheroni’s reign, things will be different.
And it is that kind of bravery the fans want to see. The golden generation, if you want to term it like that, has served UAE well and a number of them are still of a good age to contribute well into the future. But under Mahdi Ali they had become tired and staid. Towards the end of his tenure it was a team crying out for a hit of youth and excitement to regenerate the team.
The likes of Al-Jazira duo Mubarak (22) and Ahmed Al-Attas (22), Al-Wasl’s Ali Salmin (22) and Al-Wahda’s Mohamed Al-Akbari (21) have all had experience, albeit fleeting, with the national team over the past few years and have shown at domestic level they have the potential to take their game to the next level.
What they need now is a manager to trust and believe in them, and someone to give them their opportunity. Zaccheroni needs to be that man.
While it’s important for UAE to perform well in their upcoming friendlies, reportedly against Egypt and Uzbekistan, in reality results do not matter. So there is nothing to lose and everything to gain from Zaccheroni throwing caution to the wind and giving the next generation a chance.
While the UAE FA will no doubt have their eyes firmly fixed on success at the AFC Asian Cup in 2019, the long-term goal has to be to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, the first one to be staged in the Middle East.
With the UAE’s campaign to qualify for Russia 2018 ending in ignominy earlier this year, the process of building toward 2022 has to start now and we will get our first glimpse of what that looks like over the next two weeks.
First impressions count. Let us hope Zaccheroni makes a good one.

Why Zacch should attack from the start