Lost in translation on and off the pitch

The Asian Champions League has kicked off and it was not the best of starts for the UAE on or off the pitch.

The league stretches to the four corners of Asia and this made for the world's most convoluted TV interview. The usual post-match interview between the pitchside reporter and coach took an interesting turn.

Al Ahli have just been defeated by Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan 2-1 and their head coach stands in front of the usual bank of sponsors' logos. Our multi-linguist reporter asks the question in Arabic for the viewers then translates into English. This is where it gets interesting, a translator pops up into the picture to translate the question into Uzbek. The Pakhtakor coach then answers in Uzbek, the translator translates into English and the reporter into Arabic. In the time it has taken most people have forgotten what the question was in the first place.

The complexities of international competition make it difficult off the pitch for clubs and they found it just as tough on the pitch. Al Ahli lost 2-1 at home and Sharjah lost away in Iran. Neither team disgraced themselves aside from the world's weakest penalty from Caeser of Al Ahli.

There was also a chance to see a blast from the past as Ali Karimi, formerly of Al Ahli, scored twice against Sharjah in front of a huge crowd in Tehran.

Al Ahli back

The league title race took yet more twists and turns last week. Al Ahli scored a shock 4-2 win over Al Jazira in Abu Dhabi. I really thought Al Jazira would walk away with the title after some sensational football in the past few weeks. Ivan Hasek's men showed real character to win the game and have now made themselves into genuine title contenders.

Al Ain drew and will be cursing the fact they have lost ground on the league leaders. Winfried Schafer, the Al Ain coach, is still confident; he has the experience of a late surge to win the league having previously done it with Al Ahli.

The one advantage Al Ain will have is no champions league matches. The midweek games plus travelling could have a negative effect on Jazira and Ahli in the title run-in.

Faisal Khalil has completed his rehabilitation as a player and he has been included in the UAE national squad for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers and I am sure he will be keen to show the public what they have missed in the past six months.

Another coach sacked

One more thing worth mentioning is the sacking of Ajman's coach, Abdul Wahab Abdul Kader, which is another harsh decision as he had taken the newly promoted team as high as fourth in the table. It is no surprise however as he is the 11th victim this season in a 12-team league.

This weekend is the last in the league for a few weeks, yes another break believe it or not. The contenders all face middle-of-the-table opposition Al Ahli up against Al Wasl, Al Ain at home to Al Nasr and Al Jazira away to Al Shaab.

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