Revolving door begins to spin again

It's said there are just two certainties in life - death and taxes. Well, you can add to that list the sacking of coaches in the Etisalat Pro League given the first casualty of the season has arrived after just three matches with the dismissal of Jorvan Vieira from Baniyas.

If it wasn't so sad then it would be funny. The revolving door, which has seen close to 50 coaches pass through UAE football over the past three years, is starting to spin again and the only certainty is that although Vieira is the first person to be shown that door this season, he will definitely not be the last.

It is a hopeless indictment of the game in this country that most clubs opt for change at the first sign of choppy seas rather than look for stability. Only two clubs retained their coaches throughout last term, Al Shabab and Al Jazira. The results? Jazira won the Pro League and the President's Cup and Al Shabab lifted the Etisalat Cup and are in the final of the Gulf Champions League.

Turning a deaf ear

Jazira stuck with Abel Braga for two years of near misses before he delivered the double last season ahead of a return to his native Brazil. But if the message is that continuity can breed success then most of the other clubs in the league either can't or don't want to hear it.

It's true that some coaches are square pegs in round holes and struggle to adapt to the different environment in the UAE with players less fit and less skilful than in South America or Europe, and more responsive to the carrot rather than the stick.

But Vieira wasn't one of those square pegs, which makes his departure even more alarming. He speaks seven languages, including Arabic, coached Iraq to Asian Cup success in 2007 and came close to performing one of the most remarkable escape acts of all time last season when he steered little-fancied Kalba to the brink of Pro League safety despite taking over a team with just one point from its first eight matches.

It was that pedigree that attracted Baniyas as the club looked to build on its impressive second-place finish but now the owners have back-tracked and to say that is harsh on Vieira is an understatement.

The Brazilian has had to deal with one of his star foreign players, David Trezeguet, the former France World Cup star, struggling for fitness while the club was rocked in September by the death of midfielder Diab Awana in a road accident.

Problems galore

Vieira has also had precious little time to work with a complete squad thanks to UAE Olympic and World Cup qualifying call-ups and has had to deal with indiscipline with last year's top-scorer Andre Senghor reporting back late for pre-season training and two players, Fareed Esmail and Saqeer Hammadi, fined for failing to train.

Most, if not all, of which doesn't suddenly make Vieira a bad coach. In fact the irony is that when Srecko Katanec was sacked as UAE national coach just eight weeks ago, Vieira was one of the names spoken of to take over.

For the sake of the game in this country it would be great for someone of Vieira's skill to stay involved in UAE football as coaches with his experience, skill and track record are hard to find. That, of course, would mean another coach being shown that revolving door. And there is nothing more certain than that happening again, sooner rather than later.