Dubai: Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu has done it again.
Minutes after the final whistle was blown signalLing his team’s 2-2 draw against Bani Yas late on Friday, the massive frame of Olaroiu was seen striding into the media room for the customary post-match press conference before walking out.
“I want to wish all the best to whoever succeeds me next season,” was Olaroiu’s statement as he huffed his away back to the team dressing room.
A bit shell-shocked, media personnel were then left to read into what the Romanian coach could have meant with his terse statement. For one, as per the rules, Olaroiu was never supposed to be in the coach’s chair for the post-match meeting after being shown a red card in the 90th minute by referee Hamad Al Mazroui.
But he did come, make his statement and depart in quick haste before beating an even more hurried retreat from the club.
Players refrained from commenting on what the coach had uttered. But team supervisor Abdul Majid Hussain Ahli was quick to point out certain facts. “Cosmin still has two more years left on his contract with the club,” Ahli said.
“So far, we have not even made a mention in our several conversations about his departure from the club. If I know him well, then I would think that this is something that has come out of pent-up frustration with referees and match officials. Cosmin is a big name in football. He is one of the best coaches, if not the best coach at the moment in Asia. So being a target all the time can be pretty frustrating and I can very well understand his frame of mind.
“I can confidently say that the club has not been informed about his departure as we want to win many more trophies during the next two years that he is contracted with Al Ahli,” he added.
Ahli then lashed out at the referee for handling things badly on the pitch in their penultimate match of the AGL against Bani Yas. “I don’t think this referee [Al Mazroui] was the best choice for this game. He [the referee] was very, very bad tonight and he punished both teams. The referees make the mistakes and it is the teams who are made to suffer,” Ahli said.
“Cosmin is a coach whose records speak for him. He has won eight to nine trophies in a span of four years. He is the best and we would definitely want to continue with him,” he added.
However, things are expected to be in limbo at least for the next two days as the coach has given the players a three-day break to recover before starting preparations for their final round encounter at home against Al Shaab on May 8.
