Spindler aims to shoot Al Ahli to the top

Dubai: Seven long years spent in the Japanese J-League only seem to have fuelled Brazilian Jader Spindler's hunger for goals.

That will be pleasing news to his new employers Al Ahli Club, who it is rumoured shelled out $10 million (Dh 37.6 million) for his services.

But for the former Gamba Osaka player, nicknamed Bare, the burden of expectation doesn't seem to be a worry.

And with Ah Ahli in action against Al Shabab tomorrow in the Super Cup, the striker could go some way to repaying the faith shown in him by helping his team capture their first bit of silverware of the season.

It's a task, the 26-year-old seems eager to embrace.

"I don't like to discuss the money part as I am here to do a job for Al Ahli," he told Gulf News as he trained with the new club.

"I want to give off my best. My goal is to ensure Al Ahli win as many matches as possible. Of course, I am a striker and my job is to score goals, but I won't be thinking about being the top scorer as long as my team keeps on winning," he added.

The striker, who has signed a three-year contract, is the latest acquisition for the President's Cup holders.

They have already retained the services of Bare's compatriot Caesar while signing Egypt's Hosni Abdo Rabo, voted the African Nations Cup best player.

"I doubt this voyage from Japan to Dubai is an adventure. I am a professional and I want to show what I am capable of," he said. If he is to show any of the talent that lit up the J-League then Al Alhi fans can expect a big hit.

While playing for Ventforet Kofu in 2005, he scored a double hat-trick in the second leg of the J-League promotion/relegation clash against Kashiwa Reysol, helping his side gain promotion to the first division for the first time.

In 2007, he transferred to Osaka and received the J-League's best eleven award - honouring the best 11 players over a season - after scoring 20 goals in 31 appearances.

Last season, he netted four times as Osaka beat 2007 Major League Soccer champion Houston Dynamo in the Pan-Pacific Championship final.

However after seven years in Japan, the striker readily admits he was looking for a new challenge.

"I was getting a bit tired out there," he said.

"I needed to look at fresh options and Dubai was on top of my list due to the good things I heard about this place," he added.

Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad and Turkey's Fenerbahce were among the clubs pursuing the player, but he opted for life in the UAE.

"It is now time for me to test my ability as a player here. I have shown what I am capable of in a tough league like the J-League. From the little that I have seen, it is a completely different style of football here and I want to go out there and show people what I am capable of with my new club," he said.

He admits that new club has already thrown up a few surprises, most noteably the standard of play shown by his teammates.

And he says he is determined to repay the faith shown in him by Al Ahli coach Ivan Hasek.

"He (Hasek) has been amazing. He has seen the need for us to be together as a unit. He has welcomed me with open arms and I need to do something special to repay this trust that he has put in me," he added.