Zlatko Dalic is back in Saudi Arabia, and the memories came flooding back. The Croatian, now in charge of the UAE, returned to the country for the Arabian Gulf Cup "Gulf 27".
His side opened their campaign in style. Dalic watched the UAE brush Yemen aside 4-0 on Thursday at the Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah, in the first round of the group stage.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, in comments carried by the Saudi newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat", the Croatian said: "Congratulations to the fans of the UAE national team, it was a deserved victory, and these were 3 important points."
He added: "The second half was not like the first, but naturally fatigue played a role, and now we are focusing on the next match."
Bahrain are up next on Sunday, in the second round of the second group. Win that and the UAE book their place in the semi-finals, whatever happens in the third match against Qatar.
Dalic continued: "I have beautiful memories of my time in Saudi Arabia, and coaching the UAE national team is a new experience for me, and now I am looking to the future and how we build the team anew."
Those memories stretch back to his years in the Saudi league. He coached Al-Faisaly and Al-Hilal between 2010 and 2013, before moving on to Al-Ain in the UAE and then his own national team.
Asked about the UAE's goal in the Gulf tournament, he explained: "Our goal is to get through the group stage, and then step by step for what comes next, and I know how enthusiastic our fans are."
He went on: "My goal is to build a team, and I do not differentiate between naturalised players and Emirati players, and I hope our fans support us."
He concluded: "Our naturalised players are happy to represent the UAE, and of course it is not easy to continue, but I will work on building the team step by step, and our goal is to be one group."