Al Shabab have a team ethic worth emulating

Dubai: Al Ain were crowned UAE Pro-League champions following their thumping 3-0 win against Dubai Club last month. This gave coach Cosmin Olaroui the chance to turn his team’s full attention to their AFC Champions League campaign which, up until then, had been lying in tatters.

And just when the former Asian champions of the AFC Champions League were expected to deliver, they caved in — their last match in Group D resulting in a solitary-goal loss at home against Esteghlal of Iran at the end of last month.

On paper, Al Ain have always looked solid, with Ghanaian captain Asamoah Gyan leading their attack, fuelled by the likes of the exciting UAE star Omar Abdul Rahman and the Romanian Mirel Radoi.

But it has looked as though this team has not been all that prepared to participate in such a high-profile continental competition despite being the lone team from the UAE to ever win the AFC Champions League a decade ago in its inaugural year in 2003.

Esteghlal, who are within touching distance of their first Iranian league title since 2009, not only defeated the former Asian champions but, in doing so, became only the first Iranian club to beat Al Ain. The former champions, who also have a second-place finish to their credit, finished their preliminary matches with just two wins, finishing third behind Esteghlal and Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal.

The fate of two other UAE clubs, Al Nasr and Al Jazira, was much the same. Al Nasr ended last in Group C of the competition with just one point, while Al Jazira were pushed to third place in Group A with five points.

However, the one team that has surprised one and all, except themselves of course, is Al Shabab. This low-profile team from the Al Mamzar area of Dubai have qualified for the next round of the continental competition with minimum fuss. Along the way, they have put on a heart-warming display of what hard work, commitment and teamwork mean in football.

Al Shabab’s previous coach Paulo Bonamigo moved abruptly to big-spending Al Jazira just before the season started. Fellow Brazilian Marcos Paqueta, who was hastily installed as the new coach, tried to instil this belief of total football within the squad.

Al Shabab players have remained loyal to the club even at times when their salaries appeared uncertain. In view of this, the generous Dubai Sports Council provided the club with a bonus of Dh2 million earlier last week.

And despite daunting odds, Al Shabab have shown all other clubs in the UAE what hard work can achieve. Perhaps, one of the club’s players summed it up best when he said: “Maybe we would not have reached the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League if we did not have all these difficulties.”

We won’t have to wait long to find out the belief that underlies these words as Al Shabab prepare to host Esteghlal of Iran next Wednesday.