Abu Dhabi: Al Wahda’s outgoing coach Javier Aguirre was pleased that he managed to sign off from the club on a high by winning the President’s Cup unlike most coaches who were shunted out midway.
Al Wahda, on Sunday, made an official announcement that Aguirre will no longer be the part of their set-up and they are looking toward to someone with fresh ideas in the quest to move forward.
“It’s not easy to work in the league, I must say. In two years, just two coaches, me and Cosmin Olaroiu [Al Ahli coach] have stayed on. More than 25 coaches were sacked; it is not easy work,” said the Mexican, adding that the UAE assignment was one of the toughest of his career.
“It was a very tough assignment. Especially the young players of this country, in my opinion, need to understand how to be a professional,” revealed Aguirre, adding that his main challenge was to get the local players to be punctual.
“We are very proud to be in finals in the last two years. Ahmad Rashid, Abdul Basit, Mohammad Akbari, Khalil Ebrahim, the people who two years ago sometimes came late, sometimes didn’t rest properly. Today I’m proud of these players now and we have another ten like them, who know now they have to rest, how to increase their performance, and to be professionals,” said Aguirre, who also hailed the work done by the Al Wahda Academy in focusing on the Emirati youth and constantly being the talent pool for UAE football.
“I’m really proud that we have 25 players in our team, 14 of these 25 players are with the second team. This means there is big work done by the academy. Nine players are also in the UAE Olympic team and all this means Al wahda’s investment in the academy is a good decision,” said Aguirre, who felt that Al Wahda’s two titles under him — League and President’s Cup were huge.
“Talking about achievements in two years, it’s just three teams Al Jazira, Al Ahli and us who won trophies. Al Jazira got the League and President’s Cup, Al Ahli got the League and we got the President’s Cup. Just three teams shared the titles and I also have to say that we don’t invest like they do,” revealed Aguirre, who felt that Al Wahda will be a force in the coming years.
“We have a very young first team today and we have a very good base for the next four to five years for sure. They will have Super Cup and Champions League, a good challenge for the people in the dressing room in the next season,” said Aguirre.
Al Wahda Club’s president Ahmad Al Rumaithi said: “We have discussed our plan and the decision. We have high regard for Aguirre and we appreciate the work he had done with us for two years. It is unfortunate we have to go different ways but it’s all done in the best interest of the club.”
When asked on how the fans would react with the club’s decision to part ways with Aguirre immediately after the team’s success, Al Rumaithi said: “It’s a management decision to part ways with the manager. Fans will support the manager whenever he wins but will rise against him when he doesn’t deliver. We all know that. It’s not an easy decision to take when you win a major title but it’s not one person’s decision.”
Al Rumaithi, meanwhile, denied the news that Al Wahda has zeroed in on former Romanian midfielder Laurentiu Reghecampf as Aguirre’s successor. “We have a few coaches in mind and we will bring it to you notice once we confirm it,” added Al Rumaithi.
