Dubai: Al Wasl’s talismanic striker Fabio De Lima has brushed aside the off-field distractions and wants to focus on winning a long-awaited Arabian Gulf League (AGL) for The Cheetahs this season.
Lima was at the centre of an off-field feud with neigbours Al Nasr following the release of a video by a fan in which Lima and teammate Caio Canedo Correa were judged to be ‘provocative and offensive’. The disciplinary committee took cognizance of the video that went viral on social media and slapped the two Brazilians with a two-match suspension and a fine of Dhs 20,000.
However, the ban was rescinded and both Lima and Correa were allowed to play in the Dubai derby on Thursday. Lima, in fact, scored both the goals as Al Wasl shot their way to the top of the 12-team AGL standings with 17 points. Al Ain, however, can catch up with the club from Zabeel if they were to win against Al Wahda in the last match of Round Seven scheduled later on Saturday.
“I am very happy with the two goals that I scored to help my team to the top of the league. What is even more important is the fact that our team is still unbeaten in the league so far. The three points that we won are very important for us to stay at the top and continue our unbeaten run this season. We need to be in the fight for the title this year as it is good for the fans and the club to continue with our joint aspiration for the season,” Lima told Gulf News as he watched with wife Alana as Brazil beat Iran 6-4 to enter the final of the seventh Huawei Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup at Marasi Business Bay, on Friday.
“The penguin incident gave me an extra will and incentive to fight on the pitch. My job as a player is do allow my football to do the talking. Perhaps, I should always allow my football to talk and keep quiet otherwise. This is a lesson well learnt. I feel this video incident was stupid as it was not meant to hurt or degrade either the club [Al Nasr] or their fans as it was shown to be. For us [as players] it was pure fun to just have a little bit of joy and laughter in our life. Finally, I think the UAE FA did well to allow us to play, and for me and Caio it was more important to go out there and prove a point on the pitch,” the 24-year-old Brazilian added.
Lima’s goals in the 72nd and 79th minute was the difference between the two neighbours as Al Wasl continued their unbeaten run to 19 matches stretching over two seasons of the league. But the team player that he is, Lima was clear about his club’s ambitions. “The more important goal before me is that Al Wasl takes the league title. It has been too long a wait for the club and the fans and we need to fight for the league this season,” Lima said.
Al Wasl have won the league seven times, the last time in 2006-2007 before the league turned professional. After seven rounds, Lima heads the individual scorers’ list with nine goals. But for the Brazilian it would mean very little if he won the top scorer and the club failed to win the title. “We need to go about with the league step-by-step. To me, Al Wasl winning the title is more important than my personal achievements. I am clear that being the top scorer is the secondary ambition at the moment,” Lima said.
“I believe we have a team mentality, and with this we have some very good players. If there are 11 on the pitch then we have some on the bench who can be equally lethal and strong. We don’t look at personal stuff. We are there for each other, just like true friends and brothers. There is a good feeling between players and this leads to a strong team, on and off the field,” he added.
Lima lauded the efforts of their 42-year-old Argentine coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena, who has used all his skills as a manager to bring out the best from Al Wasl. “Everybody at Al Wasl loves the coach. He is young and he can relate to all of us. He is a very important element in our team. It is good that he got the chance to continue with Al Wasl for one more season, and the result can be seen on the field.”
