Dubai: The expectations have gone way too high for the chairman of the board of directors of former five-time UAE champions Al Ahli.
"We want to be champions of Asia," Abdullah Al Naboudah, chairman of the Al Ahli board of directors told reporters after the Red Devils secured a comfortable 2-0 win in a friendly against Al Hilal late on Monday.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, we are still at one. So there is a long way to go for this team, and we have all the time in the world to scale the remaining part of the achievement curve.
"Our mission will be complete only after we are crowned the champions of Asia; it's no longer just about the UAE league," he added.
The home side opened the score on the 15th minute when Grafite nodded in his first for the Red Devils off an inch-perfect free kick taken by fellow Brazilian Jaja.
And a minute from the hour mark, Ahmad Khamis latched on to a goalkick from Obaid Al Tawillah and placed past Khalid Sharahili on the Al Hilal goal.
Other than the three domestic competitions, Al Ahli has made it to the semi-finals of the Gulf Clubs Championships. So the AFC Champions League will have to wait at least for a year.
Hard work
"We are still under preparation. We are missing eight players who are on international duty. Once they come in then we will back at our strength.
"We will improve a bit I expect. I hope this is what is going to be expected of this Al Ahli team this season. There is a lot of hard work gone into moulding this team," Al Naboodah remarked.
"This has not been an easy time for Al Ahli. A lot of hard work has gone in and I expect things to be better with time," he added.