Dubai: Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah, the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Al Ahli Club, led the outpouring of praise for coach Cosmin Olaroiu and the newly-crowned league champions.
Al Ahli bagged their sixth league crown late on Thursday with a 2-1 win over Al Wasl, sending the Red Knights’ fans into wild celebrations immediately after the final whistle was blown by referee Hamad Ali Yousuf.
Ricardo Oliveira put visitors Al Wasl ahead in the opening minutes of the clash, but the home side bounced back with a brace from Ahmad Khalil and Grafeti to take their lead to 15 points with only three matches remaining.
The title brought to an end a four-year wait for the Al Ghusais club.
They last won the league crown when the professional era of the competition was launched in 2008-09.
“Nothing would have been possible without the support of our President, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council. I also have to thank all my board members, but one person who has made all the difference in putting together a tough unit is our coach Cosmin Olaroiu,” Al Naboodah said as fans mobbed him to take ‘selfies’ after accomplishing one of three goals set for the season.
“I think Cosmin has been one special coach who has paid a lot of attention to winning matches in the locker room itself. He has been a master tactician and, despite all the hard times, we have kept our focus and fulfilled one of our main goals by winning tonight,” he added.
Olaroiu, a former defender with Romanian champions FC Bucharest, took charge of Al Ahli in July 2013 after leading Al Ain to two successive league titles.
The Romanian, who turns 45 in July, is widely travelled, having first coached in the Romanian and Korean Leagues followed by his first move to the region when he joined Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in 2007.
After two successful seasons at Al Hilal, Olaroiu moved to Al Sadd, Qatar, before moving back briefly to Steaua Bucharest in his homeland and then accepting the two-year contract with Al Ain.
“For four years we had been trying to win the league title and it is only because of the mental attitude that Cosmin has brought into the team that we can go on to win all four trophies this season,” Al Naboodah said.
“Things were not the easiest this season, especially after we were docked three points despite winning against Al Dhafra. But that is when our players showed real character,” he added.
“There is no doubt we want to win all four trophies this season and write our own bit of history. Honestly, we expected competition from teams like Al Ain, Al Jazira and Al Nasr, and after we defeated Sharjah Club 2-1 despite playing a major part of the match with only ten players we started dreaming of the league title.”
