Abu Dhabi: Al Jazira coach Henk ten Cate will take a call on his future after his side lost the Super Cup 2-0 to city rivals Al Wahda at Bani Yas Stadium on Saturday.
Mourad Batna followed up on a rebound from Sebastian Tagliabue’s long shot to get the opener on 21 minutes, before Balazs Dzsudzsak netted a penalty before the hour after keeper Ali Khaseif brought down Esmail Matar.
The defeat in this one-off decider between the winners of last season’s Arabian Gulf League and President’s Cup dumps more woes on league defending champions Al Jazira.
Since winning the title under Ten Cate last season, they have struggled in their defence, and are currently fifth in the league, 11 points off leaders Al Ain with 10 games remaining.
Injuries and pay disputes, leading to the one that saw UAE striker Ahmad Khalil leave for Al Ain last week after making just two appearances in six months, have hampered the side.
Their only bright spell was running Real Madrid close before a 2-1 defeat to Los Blancos in the Fifa Club World Cup semi-final last month in Abu Dhabi. Since then however the club have only won twice in eight matches across all competitions.
“It is difficult to speak,” said Ten Cate, when asked to explain the club’s decline. “I am not the person to speak about this. But it is like asking a question you already know.
“I smile again. But I cannot continue saying these things. It’s like a gramophone, the needle sticks in one place. It is the same story, over and over again. I am really serious now. I am going to have a good talk about my future.
“The lack of communication to the public creates wrong expectations, this is what happened. This is not for me to say. It is not my job to talk about it. I said so many times that things are beyond my reach, beyond my control, I said this a lot of times.”
Al Wahda’s victory to claim the first piece of silverware of the season tells a different tale of their resurgence under coach Laurentiu Reghecampf. They’ve won the last seven games on the trot across all competitions, are unbeaten in eleven, and sit second in the league, two points behind leaders Al Ain.
