Croatian coach Alen Hovart, head coach of Al Dhafra, expects a strong and difficult match against Sharjah in the opening round of the ADNOC Pro League, stressing that his team is ready for its first game of the new season.

Hovart made the remarks during the pre-match press conference held on Thursday evening in the press conference room at Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium in Zayed City. The conference focused on Al Dhafra’s preparations for the match and was attended by team captain Abdullah Al Karbi.

At the beginning of the conference, Hovart said that Sharjah will fight to compete for the top spot in the league, describing them as one of the teams that regularly challenge for the highest positions. He stressed that facing a team of Sharjah’s quality represents an important test for Al Dhafra at the start of the season.

“The match will be a good indicator of how ready our team is at the beginning of the season. Our goal is to continue working with the same organization and high level of confidence that we showed during the preparation period. We played only a few friendly matches, but they were good and beneficial. If we continue to work in the same way against Sharjah, that will be a positive thing for us,” he said.

Al Dhafra head coach also invited the club’s supporters to attend the match at Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium and get behind the team.

“I would like to take this opportunity to invite our great fans to come to the stadium, stand behind the team and support us, so that we can achieve positive results at the start of the season,” he said.

For his part, team captain Abdullah Al Karbi expressed his hope that the match against Sharjah would be a successful start for Al Dhafra following what he described as a successful pre-season camp.

Al Karbi also called on the club’s supporters, known as the “Knights of Al Dhafra,” to continue supporting the team and attend the opening match of the season, as they did throughout the previous campaign. He emphasized that the fans’ support provides players with important motivation to give their best and achieve the results they are aiming for.