As the only way to give jokes to fans this year, Al Ittihad sees the cup and the fight against Al Khaleej is of paramount importance for the team at the moment.

All say they are ready to take advantage of the fact that they play with a smaller group and continue in the quarter-finals with the aim of picking up a trophy. While in the league the team is a drama and counts the slaps one after another, in the cup they had no trouble blocking Al Hazm, a second-class team as well, with an easy 3-1.

Of course Al Khaleej is currently flying and is at the top of the second division. In the previous round, Al Nahda, the worst heavyweight team, was out in the penalty shoot-out, and this shows the differences between the two categories.

Al Ittihad last year suffered from a second-class team, Al Quadsiya, so this year I expect to be 100 times more serious and careful. I think he has a lot of talent to bend an ambitious team like Al Khaleej and the truth is that when Ittihad plays seriously he can win any opponent.