Sport | Football
Battlelines drawn for top league contenders
Al Jazira host Al Shabab at Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium here tonight in a match that will either end or extend the last amateur football league season in the UAE.
- By Yasir Abbasher, Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:15 May 21, 2008
- Image Credit: Karl Jeffs/Gulf News
- Action during the First Division League match between Al Shabab (in green) and Al Jazira at the Al Shabab Club ground earlier this season.
Abu Dhabi: Al Jazira host Al Shabab at Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium here tonight in a match that will either end or extend the last amateur football league season in the UAE.
If Al Shabab win or draw tonight, they will be crowned champions. However, a win by Al Jazira will force the etisalat First Division League into a playoff, to be held on Sunday to decide the champions.
The 2008-09 season will see the introduction of the UAE Professional League.
Al Shabab have the easier task between the two teams tonight. They will emerge champions if they can manage to ensure even a draw tonight. For Al Jazira, on the other hand, it is a must-win situation if they want to keep their hopes alive for a first-ever league crown.
Al Shabab currently lead the standings with 41 points. They have been the top team right from the start of the tournament this season, showing fine form under the guidance of Toninho Cerezo, their Brazilian coach. Cerezo has managed to bring the best out of his players in only his first season with the team.
The team have scored 44 goals from 21 matches and conceded 30. They won 12 matches, drew in 5 and lost 4.
Secret of success
The secret behind the club's success this season is the fact that they are playing as a well-integrated team without any single player emerging as the sole provider for the side.
What perhaps illustrates this point best is the fact that not a single striker from Al Shabab features in the list of the top 11 goalscorers in the league this season. It is collective responsibility that has helped the team maintain their sole leadership right from the day the league started, until now.
Al Shabab's top scorer is Sorrour Salem, the rising UAE star. He has scored 9 goals and seems to be one of the brighter prospects for the national team in their quest to reach the second round of Asian qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
Al Jazira, on the other hand, deserve their status of being one of the best contenders for the title this season. They started the season, winning the GCC Clubs Championship, their first ever success in a major competition. They have also found solutions to the problem of inconsistency that have so often dogged the team's performance in various tournaments. This time around, they have been more consistent in winning matches.
They need to win tonight. Their players are well aware of the fact that it is not going to be an easy task by any means.
Nevertheless, they are determined to achieve their dream and have confidence in their capabilities. They have won 11 out of the 21 league matches they have played so far this season. They have drawn 5 and lost 5.
Highest-scoring teams
Al Jazira, along with Al Ahli, are the highest-scoring teams with 46 goals each.
However, Al Jazira have conceded 31 goals, raising questions about the solidity of their defence. That, despite the fact that they have not lost a home match since last season.
Both Al Shabab and Al Jazira have several players who can score goals. Al Jazira's Ebrahima Diyaki, Phillip Cocu, Ahmad Dada, Mamado Dialo and Abdul Salam Jumaa are all fine scorers, while Al Shabab can bank on the likes of Eman Mob'ali, Jawad Qazimian, Adil Abdullah, Surour Salim and Salim Sa'ad to deliver the goods for the side.
Strengths & weaknesses: Where the rivals stand
Al Jazira: Team work, specially in the attack, is the source of their strength.
The team have scored 46 goals from 21 matches. Toni leads the strikers with 10 goals, but even defenders have scored for the team, especially Saleh Obaid, the left wing-back. Obaid, however, will miss the match for having collected three yellow cards.
In the midfield, Ebrahima Diyaki, Phillip Cocu and Abdul Salam Jumaa bring experience and creativity to the team. All three players have not only succeeded in creating goals, but in scoring as well.
The team's weakness is the lack of understanding among the defenders, which saw them concede no less than 31 goals. Moreover, the team have the tendency to retreat to their own half whenever they score an early goal.
Al Shabab: The team have shown fine form in the current season, which is in stark contrast to their performance during the last few seasons when they were not able to rise above mid-table in the standings and were even threatened by relegation at times.
One of the principal source of strengths for Al Shabab in the current season is their Brazilian coach Toninho Cerezo. He has guided the side very efficiently this season and has brought the team on the cusp of First Division League championship glory for the first time in 13 years.
Cerezo's tactics and his clever changes during the league matches this season helped Al Shabab stay on top of the standings right from the start of the current edition of the competition in September last year.
In addition to Cerezo, Al Shabab have one of the most dynamic midfield combination. Led by the Iranian duo of Eman Mob'ali and Jawad Qazimian, the midfield is bolstered by Adil Abdullah, Ali Rashid, Rico, Dawood. The deft moves from the flanks, by Naser Yousuf, Badr Abdul Rahman and Abdullah Darwish, add more teeth to their attack.
The Al Shabab striking force, comprising Salim Sa'ad and Surour Salim, along with Qazimian playing as the attacking midfielder, have wreaked havoc among the rival defenders this season.
However, the defence is the only weak link in an otherwise solid Al Shabab composition. The team's central defence, in particular, is an area of concern.
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