Sport | Football
Problems mount for Bani Yas despite three wins in a row
Trezeguet terminates contract and caretaker turns down job
- By Ashley Hammond, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 November 21, 2011
- Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News
- Nantcho Antonin (in blue) of Bani Yas in action against Eman Mobali of Sharjah in an Etisalat Cup match on Saturday. Despite the club’s troubles off the field, caretaker coach Salem Al Orafi produced a third win out of three games.
Dubai: Already in the market for a coach, Bani Yas are now also on the lookout for a replacement for injured striker David Trezeguet, who has terminated his year-long Dh8.4 million contract by mutual consent after just three months.
It tops off a tumultuous start to the season for last year's league runners-up, who first lost star-player Diab Awana in a tragic car accident and then suffered a spate of injuries, unauthorised absences and national team call-ups which lead to poor results and Jorvan Vieira's sacking.
Interim coach Salem Al Orafi recorded his third win from three on Saturday, at Sharjah in the Etisalat Cup.
Afterwards, he said: "The board asked me if I want to take charge permanently but I said no, sorry, it's too much of a headache. If you lose a game here, you know how it is."
Explaining his success, Al Orafi added: "Maybe they want to help themselves or maybe they like me too much. I'm serious with them on the pitch but joke with them outside. I'm direct with them all."
Of Trezeguet, who joined over the summer as a star signing, Al Orafi said: "He came to us and said I'm sorry I can't give you what you want, I want to resign or cancel the deal.
‘Not about the money'
"This is professional and we thank Trezeguet for his honesty."
"He could have stayed and we would have still paid him his salary but it's not about the money."
The French 34-year-old World and European Cup winner who represented Platense, Monaco, Juventus and Hercules has so far failed to confirm if this contract termination signals the end of an illustrious career.
Much speculation has now centred on the identity of the club's new coach.
With Al Orafi out of the running, names that have been bandied around include Hassan Shehata, Gabriel Calderon, Levir Culpi and Dunga.
But the club is yet to announce Vieira's successor, despite reports that Shehata, not under contract at Egypt's Zamalek, has already agreed to a move. Under Al Orafi, the club are sixth in the league with four points from four games. In the Etisalat Cup they sit fourth in their group with seven points from six.
Bani Yas spokesman Musaad Al Harthy said the Shehata rumour was false, adding that no decision had been made on a new coach or player. Foreign professionals Andre Senghor, Antonin Koutouan and Fawzi Basheer will now await news of who will replace fourth overseas signing, Trezeguet. Be it after the closure of the transfer window, Bani Yas will have to seek the services of a free agent until it reopens again in January.
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