Changing for the better

Dribblings and long balls may be things of the past at Emirates Club. Coach Reinhard Fabisch says he doesn't like that brand of soccer. He prefers combinations out of a secure standing defence. One-touch play, if possible. High Speed combinations. Click, click, click. No more long balls and waiting for what happens.

This may be the future shape of the Emirates Club, if they are able to bring a strong defence into their games.

"It is difficult to change tactics, but game by game, we can become better in playing one-touch combinations", Fabisch realised after all these weeks of training in Germany. "We worked hard in those four weeks in Barsinghausen." Fabisch and his assistant coach, Ith Abud, did much to get the basic fitness right because it is of paramount importance running with as well as without te ball.

High expectations

Emirates Club have high expectations this year after securing their berth in the elite league last season. "We reached our aim last season not to be relegated and that has resulted in high expectations. Sometimes I have to bring them back to earth a little bit, but indeed we do not want to come in touch with that negative aspects. Our aim is to play a role in the middle of the league table and avoid the pressures and fears from last year. This is a really big challenge", Fabisch said.

The German coach, who took over last winter, celebrated his 56th birthday during the training camp in Germany. Fabisch had worked as the national coach of Kenya, three times in the past. He had coached Zimbabwe for six years, besides guiding Nepal, Guatemala, Barbados and some club teams in South Africa, Oman and Qatar, before signing a new contract with Ras Al Khaimah.

He is keen on bringing about a change in the football mentality of the players by incorporating a game plan that is based on counter-attacks.

Obviously he has met with some initial hiccups.

For instance, he had problems when he tried to change the defence mechanism from sweeper to chain. Four in row was not the case with Emirates Club and after heavy defeats, they came back to the one-sweeper-with-two-defenders formation.

"I had to, because security is most important. I cannot follow my personal ideas when the team is not ready for it. The tactics have to fit to be successful", Fabisch explained. "I think our face for the new season will make us stronger in the offense."

The roster, though, will not change much. "I will choose 25 players out of a pool of 30," Fabisch said. The little changes on the roster, however, can have a serious impact on the team's fortunes. This may be the case with Oluwali the Togo striker who scored heavily during the last season, but has since left the club.

Even then, the signing of two Iranians has kept Fabisch buoyant. "This will make us stronger than before," he said.

Hussain Ka'abi, 24, a World Cup player, showed his prowess in the central midfield during training. He is also a good scorer and is likely to form a potent combination with 30-year-old attacker and compatriot Reza Enayati. Enayati's height is an obvious advantage for him and Fabisch is all praise for the duo. "Both have integrated already. They will give lots of inputs for our future performance as a team."

Other key players to watch out for are Malalla and Khaburi.

Quick offence

While Fabisch is working with the team on how to create a quick offensive play, he is already satisfied with the work in defence. "Individual skills are okay, headballs are okay. We know how to move in 1:1 situations. That's good," the coach said.

So the question is: Whether all this will be enough to face powerhouses like Al Wahda in the first league match on September 24?

Fabisch smiles in reply: "Al Wahda are a top team and we are just small outfit.

"So one should not compare us with them. But I'm looking forward to the game against the side coached by Horst Koeppel and his assistant Lothar Sippel."

"It is difficult to change tactics, but game by game, we became better in playing one-touch combinations."