Cosmin Olaroiu says the UAE national team want to deliver qualification for the World Cup as a gift for “a nation that deserves it”.
Fourteen years after he first arrived in the club game as coach of Al Ain, the Romanian has taken charge of the national side with the ultimate prize at stake.
They face Uzbekistan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday evening knowing direct qualification to the 2026 World Cup is possible, even if it is hanging by a thread.
If the home team can beat the second-placed Uzbeks at Al Nahyan Stadium, they will move to within a point of them in the group.
They would then need to better whatever result the Uzbeks achieve against Qatar on Tuesday in their own game in Kyrgyzstan to book their ticket to the United States, Canada and Mexico. Coincidentally, Tuesday is also Olaroiu’s birthday.
Even though he has been in situ in his new role for little more than a week, optimism has been flooding through the game here since he landed the role.
His appointment has infused people with the belief qualification can be achieved without resorting to a repechage play-off in October.
It is the 'Olaroiu effect' in motion, but the man himself says only a group effort will bring about success.
“It’s not about me,” Olaroiu said. “I am a small part of this team. I am here to help, and give my support and experience to transfer to the players to reach their dream.
“It is about this group of players. They have the biggest opportunity at this moment that most of them will have in their careers: to participate in a World Cup.
“They should understand this and be very motivated to reach their dream, and the dream of a nation that deserves to get this. For us, this is a big responsibility.”
Given how much rests on the game against the Uzbeks, Olaroiu has a tricky balance to strike.
He acknowledged his coaching staff have had to rein back the players at points over the past week, so enthusiastic have they been. Even that, though, he regards as positive.
“Sometimes they overload themselves and we have to tell them to calm down a little bit, and this is a good sign that they want it,” Olaroiu said. “This is the way we should approach the game.”
Olaroiu accepts the challenge facing his side is a sizeable one against an Uzbek side which he terms “one of the biggest teams in Asia”. But he enjoys it that way, he said.
“In my career I have been involved in games against lots of teams who are bigger than us,” the UAE coach said.
“Always, we have one chance, and I will fight for the chance. We have to do this, and tomorrow is our first chance to do this.”
If Olaroiu is charged with readying the players for the challenge ahead, then he has an able captain on the field to help carry out the mission.
Khalid Essa, the goalkeeper, is almost as adept at delivering a message as his new coach. The Al Ain No 1 said he feels privileged to finally work with Olaroiu.
“I have spent 15 years representing the clubs I have played for and the national team,” Essa said. “Through these years, I can say I am very proud and lucky that, before I retire, I have played under the guidance of this coach.
“He is a coach who can understand the players inside and outside the pitch. He can extract the maximum from the players. He has leadership characteristics, and knows the players who are here more than any other coach.”
Essa, too, emphasised the fact success will only come via a communal effort.
“We are much closer to the World Cup than we have ever been, and we believe in this moment,” Essa said.
“It will be a joint effort between the players, the management, the federation, the fans, and the entire nation.
“If we continue in this way, we can achieve big things. Until this point we have been performing well, but luck wasn’t on our side, fate wasn’t on our side.
“We don’t know what the result will be tomorrow, but we will put in all our efforts, and we are expecting a positive atmosphere. We are seeing that already.
“We are all sailing the same ship here. We all want to qualify for the World Cup. The entire country. To do that, for the next five days we all need to share in the joint effort.”
