Abu Dhabi: The renewal of the Sharjah-Al Shaab rivalry will be a particular highlight of the forthcoming Arabian Gulf League season.
The Sharjah derby has not been played for many years because of the decline of the two teams.
Al Shaab were absent from the top league for three seasons, while Sharjah return after being promoted last season.
As such, excitement is high in both camps as they prepare to lock horns once again.
“We were the first club in the country to start our preparations for the new season,” Ebrahim Al Nimir, the CEO of Sharjah, told Sharjah TV on Friday. “We are serious about not only winning the derby, but also avoiding relegation. That’s clear from our statement of intent in making Paolo Bonamigo our new coach. He has a great knowledge of the clubs in the league as he was in charge of Al Shabab and Al Jazira. We held an external training camp in Turkey in July and we will go for another in Germany next month. We also have signed some local players who we think will help us achieve our objectives, such as Saleh Basher, Badr Abdul Rahman, Abdullah Ahmad and Abdullah Darwish.
“I expect that the Sharjah derby will again be the centre of attention and provide great entertainment for football fans.”
Also speaking to Sharjah TV, Ammar Al Doukhi, a member of the Al Shaab board of directors, added: “We have returned back to our natural place among the top clubs and we will never allow ourselves to go back again down to the amateur division. We are a big club and the poor results we achieved last season in some matches was a result of individual mistakes because we believe we have a good team and we are confident that this team will be even better in the new season.
“We promise our fans a big surprise regarding the foreign professionals and we will announce that within ten days only. We have already extended the contract of the French striker Michel N’Dri and we will announce the other foreigners soon.
“We are optimistic about our fortunes in the new season because there is a good understanding between the players of the team and the head coach Marius Sumudica. This will motivate the players to do their best and we are prepared for the tough challenge of the new season, planning to achieve good results and stay in contention with the top teams.”
