Abu Dhabi: Al Jazira’s new foreign recruit, Mbark Boussoufa, has hailed the Pride of Abu Dhabi’s ambition and targeted silverware in the upcoming season.
The 32-year-old Netherlands-born Moroccan international is to date Jazira’s only overseas signing of the summer after joining from Lokomotiv Moscow in July.
The attacking midfielder, who said his move was the culmination of a year-long pursuit by the Abu Dhabi club, was unveiled at a press conference at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium on Monday.
He said he was determined to help Jazira, who won the President’s Cup last season but finished only seventh in the Arabian Gulf League, become a force to be reckoned with again. “It’s a very ambitious club and after what happened in the last year, the club want to do better and I’m here to help to them,” he said. “I want to win something and here to do well and have the same targets as the club. Our priorities are the same as we are all ambitious.”
Good feeling
Boussoufa, who has scored six times for his country in 40 appearances and who is a former Ajax and Chelsea academy member, spent last season on loan at Belgium’s Gent, where he started his career in 2004. “It’s a good feeling to be here and having played in different countries, this is a very good adventure for me,” he added, before going on to praise the club’s recent pre-season training camp in the Netherlands.
Boussoufa is relishing the chance to team up Jazira’s stellar striker, Ali Mabkhout, when he returns from international duty with the UAE next week. “I’m here to show my best skills and do the best for our club and help the club. My best position is No10, but I can play on either side,” he added.
Fulfilling role
Likewise, he expects to prosper under the canny tutelage of the coach Henk ten Cate, a former assistant at Chelsea and Barcelona.
“I’m happy to have him as the coach, as he’s well known for playing big players in Europe and has a very good reputation and knows football very well. I’m glad I’m working with someone who has won a lot, so that’s for me exciting. I’m here to play in the position that he wants me in and try to fulfil my role in a good way.”
Centre midfielders Salem Abdullah and Humaid Ahmad, who arrived at Jazira from Al Wasl and Fujairah respectively, were also presented to the media. Jazira’s other acquisition, the right-back Mohammad Fawzi from Al Ain, was not there given that he is with the UAE squad in Japan preparing for Thursday’s opening World Cup qualifier.
Meanwhile, the club did not confirm or deny reports in the Italian media at the weekend that Jazira are tracking Juventus’s Brazilian midfielder Hernanes. The capital club begin the new season with a home Arabian Gulf Cup tie against city rivals Al Wahda on Saturday, before taking on Al Ahli in the Arabian Gulf Super Cup in Cairo 10 days later.
