Dubai: In his prematch conference last week, Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu had predicted a “completely different season” this year.

Now, with eight rounds of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) concluding Tuesday, it looks like his words had a prophetic ring to it.

With former Argentinian star Gabriel Calderon as coach, Al Wasl supporters heaved a huge sigh of relief when they notched a 1-0 away win against Sharjah while Bani Yas hammered tough nuts Ajman 3-0.

The remaining two matches stayed as per the form book with Al Jazira swamping bottom-ranked Kalba 4-0 and Al Nasr earning a hard-fought and deserving 1-0 win at home against Al Dhafra.

Earlier on Monday, Al Wahda struggled their way past Fujairah 1-0, while Al Shabab scored two goals in as many minutes for a comfortable 3-2 away win against Emirates Club. Defending champions Al Ahli and former champions Al Ain settled for a tame 1-1 draw.

“Do not expect results as per form of the teams. Remember every team enters the ground looking for three points, but that is not going to be the case this year. I can say our players are giving their best on the field, but their best does not seem to be enough as the other teams come better prepared to face strong teams like ours,” Olaroiu said.

The current season is going to be a hectic one, especially for the big clubs whose players have to divide time between national team duties and domestic competitions. Al Ain has a few players in the national side, but they were lucky in a way as they featured in the AFC Champions League engagements. Al Ahli, on the other hand, had most of their players staying away with coach Mahdi Ali preparing for Gulf Cup in Riyadh and the AFC Asian Cup in Australia early next year.

“Most of my players are exhausted. They are not able to run for more than 30 minutes. We are trying to put them on the right path, but this cannot be achieved overnight. I should train them and prepare them for each match. Last season, we trained as a team and we won three trophies at the end of the year. Things are different and we all know the reason,”

Although Olariou will get a one-month break to further prepare the team for the ninth round of AGL, he will once again have to do so without the services of his main players who have already joined the national team camp for the Gulf Cup.

The ninth round of the AGL will be held on November 29-30 with Al Jazira hosting Al Wahda in the Abu Dhabi derby.