Dubai: Sheikh Saeed Bin Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Hatta Sports Club, extended thanks and gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and to Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai & Chairman of the Executive Council, toward their generous care and unlimited support.
He also thanked Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Sports Council (DSC), for providing all factors of success and full support to Hatta Club, who won the UAE First Division title and qualified for the ADNOC Professional League. Hatta will be the fourth club from Dubai to participate in this top level, alongside title holders Shabab Al Ahli Club, and Al Nasr and Al Wasl Clubs.
Surpassing all challenges
Sheikh Saeed Bin Hamdan, in a press release, praised the efforts of the Board’s Chairman & Members of Hatta Club, besides the efforts of the technical & administrative bodies and players, who have all surpassed challenges and presented distinctive performance to win the First Division title.
This came during Sheikh Saeed Bin Hamdan’s meeting with Hatta Club’s delegation at Zabeel Palace, in the presence of Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of DSC, Naser Aman Al Rahma, Assistant Secretary General of DSC.
Hatta Club’s delegation was chaired by Ali Mohamed Obaid Al Badwawi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hatta Club and Hatta Football Co., along with other Board’s members and the national coach Dr. Abdullah Misfer and members of the technical & administrative bodies.
Remarkable performance
Sheikh Saeed Bin Hamdan was briefed on the plans of preparations for the upcoming season in the Pro League, and he has accordingly instructed respective bodies to coordinate with DSC to provide all necessary support for Hatta to have a remarkable performance in the ADNOC Pro.
Sheikh Saeed Bin Hamdan also met with the coach, players and technical and administrative bodies of the club and lauded their efforts and superlative performance, motivating them for an excellent performance in the next season.
Hatta coach Misfer is willing to take one step at a time after realising their dream of making it to the UAE Pro League next season. For Hatta, known for its mountains, it was an uphill task midway through the season, when they were at the bottom half of the table after consecutive losses in the First Division. However, the injection of new players in the January transfer window and the self-belief attained after a couple wins, gave Hatta the momentum to reach the summit.
Self belief
“We had a huge gap with the leaders at that time, but slowly we started finding our rhythm. Firstly we reduced the gap and that confidence gave us the belief about our standards and instilled the belief that we could go for the title,” Misfer told Gulf News.
Hatta Club had to make changes to all — mental, physical and tactical — aspects of the game. All Hatta players were injury-free and the coach used it to their advantage the most.
“That was a big plus in the push towards the title,” Misfer added.
After making it to the Pro League, the coach has set a very realistic target for the new season and the most important one is to keep their position in the top league.
First goal
“We are very clear about our targets in the Pro League. Our first target is to find the right players, should we require, and sign them. We want to take one step at a time. So the first goal is to retain our position in the Pro League. It is not easy to compete against the top for the title, but the realistic target is to stay there and that is the key. For that we also need to prepare during the preseason. Once the season starts then we will evaluate if the plan is working and then change our plans if required. There is no promise now but we will try our best,” Misfer said.
Abdulrahim Obaid Al Badawi, Second Vice-Chairman of Hatta, thanked the support the club received as running a club was a very costly affair.
“Everything in this sport, it is called money talk. Without money one cannot bring good trainer, good coach. So we are really thankful for the support. We have a lot of players from the junior team and we have brought some players from outside. It is the result of the hardwork of all those associated the board members, officials, coaches and the players. Almost 24 hours a day they work hard for this achievement. I am really proud of our achievement.”
