DUBAI: Midfielder Fabio de Lima has predicted that the arrival of new coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena will invigorate Al Wasl’s trophy hunt during this season.
After spending two years, the 40-year-old Arruabarrena left Boca Juniors of Argentina at the beginning of 2016, during which time he guided Diego Maradona’s former club to the Argentine Primera Division crown and the Copa Argentina title.
Arruabarrena signed for Al Wasl at the beginning of summer in an attempt to help his new side reach glory once again. Al Wasl have so far won the league title seven times, the last one coming at the end of the 2006-’07 season. The Zabeel outfit ended in sixth place in the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) last season, a clear 27 points adrift of champions Al Ahli.
“This year is going to be very important for Al Wasl. We realise we need to improve on what we achieved last year. The new season is going to be important for me and for my club,” de Lima told media during at an interaction on the sidelines of an adidas-sponsored event held at the Dubai Sports World on Friday.
“To all of us at Al Wasl, the league title will be the most important, and that will be the focus for all of us. We have been close to winning trophies in the recent past, and this season we want to be the number one team. I think it is time for Al Wasl to take things to the next level,” the 23-year-old added.
This will be De Lima’s third season with the Al Zabeel outfit, where he was an important cog in former coach Gabriel Calderon’s plans. Now, the incoming Arruabarrena too has received de Lima’s backing following a lengthy pre-season.
“He [Arruabarrena] is a good coach. There is no language barrier at Al Wasl. Everyone in the team is getting along just fine and eagerly looking forward to the start of the season next month,” the Brazilian added.
“Calderon and Arruabarrena are like two differing schools of coaching. Arruabarrena is more forward thinking and attacking in his approach, and I am hopeful of being successful with him as coach,” he added.
“Last year we had our chances, but we were not consistent and there were other strong clubs. This year Al Wasl has improved as and this will help us be champions.”
