After the President’s Cup round of 16, Amith Passela offers his take on the biggest talking points from the tournament.
No defence for Jazira
The shock early exits of the Abu Dhabi powerhouses Al Jazira and Al Wahda were the headline news of the President’s Cup round of 16 this week.
Jazira have invested heavily in on-field talent this season but ended up without any silverware in the three domestic competitions and missed an Asian Champions League qualification through the play-offs.
The results have cast a doubt on the future of their coach Eric Gerets, the Belgian who arrived from Qatari club Lekhwiya on a two-year deal last summer with the hopes of putting Jazira on a title path.
After coming up short, Gerets said he would wait for the verdict from the Jazira board, expected this week, on whether he will see out his contract at the Mohammed bin Zayed stadium next season.
Jazira’s main woe was their leaky defence and it would be too harsh to put the blame on Gerets even though he did his best to fix it with the limited resources at his disposal.
The foreign quartet had already been decided before Gerets’s arrival and they included the all-attack options of Mirko Vucinic, Manual Lanzini, Jonathan Pitroipa and Jucilei da Silva.
Jazira signed veteran centre-back Basheer Saeed, 34, from Al Ahli in the second half of the season but that, too, looked inadequate as the season progressed.
The defence line-up would be one of the main topics for discussion when the club management meet technical staff this week to evaluate the players and the team’s performances.
Al Jaber’s future
In the coming weeks Al Wahda will have to decide if they are going to continue with Sami Al Jaber, who took charge in mid-February after the club parted ways with the Portuguese Jose Peseiro.
The former Saudi Arabia international has since made clear that he “would love to continue” if provided the opportunity, despite Wahda’s first-round exit from the President’s Cup and fourth-place finish in the Arabian Gulf League.
Dubai sprang the biggest surprise when they sent Wahda packing in a penalty shoot-out 4-2 after a 2-2 draw.
They meet Al Ahli in the quarter finals.
Ahli are desperate to end their campaign on a high by winning the cup and with it a passage to the 2016 Asian Champions League. If they progress through the next two games a possible showdown with Al Ain also awaits, giving them one last chance this season to pit themselves against the team that deposed them as AGL champions.
Garden City side look strong
Al Ain proved they will be the team to beat with a five-star performance against the promoted Dibba Al Fujairah, hammering them 5-0.
It was the most impressive display of the eight games played over the weekend.
Next for the Garden City club is Al Nasr and it is hard to look beyond the Arabian Gulf League champions lifting another trophy before the end of the season on current form.
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