Dubai: Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu has set dual goals of emotionally building up his home-bred players while sorting out his final foreign professionals before Friday’s home derby against Al Wasl.
Arabian Gulf League champions last year, the Red Knights’ 1-0 loss to arch-rivals Al Shabab last week leaves them mid-table in seventh position with 23 points, ten adrift of leaders Al Jazira going into this week’s fixtures.
One of the biggest problems for the Romanian coach has been a growing list of injured players, including the likes of Majid Hassan, Carlos Munoz, Ahmad Khalil and now Luis Jimenez, who has reportedly been told to seek fresh employment, hours before Thursday night’s transfer deadline.
And, other than his oft-repeated taunt that he has been made a target by referees, Olaroiu has had to deal with several off-field issues, including a scarcity of players for crunch matches.
Last month, the club signed Moroccan Osama Assaidi from Liverpool and Cruzeiro playmaker Everton Ribeiro from Brazil. Earlier this week, South Korean Kwon Kyung-won got a three-year deal at the Ghusais club, leaving their Chilean-Palestinean Jimenez unsettled.
Of Jimenez, Olaroiu said on Wednesday: “I’ve excused myself from a two-hour meeting with the boss [chairman Abdullah Naboodah] and we are yet to come to a decision. Eventually, we will come to a decision.”
Olariou is now focused on how to get three points against Al Wasl on Friday and put his club’s campaign back on track.
“We need to respect Al Wasl. I have watched them play on two occasions recently and the results they have got may not indicate the actual quality they possess as a team. We need to be careful and do things that ensure we get the three points,” he said.
“It is always a tough match against Al Wasl, so I am not expecting anything less this time. We need to enter the field with a lot of respect for Al Wasl.
“We are still searching and working and trying to put our team’s morale back on track. Winning the title is a bit difficult for us. We have to see how we can win the next game. We are not in a situation like we were at the same time last year. The best thing is taking one match at a time.”
