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Gulf News - Al
Ahli, the top team in the first division football league table, face a
tough task tomorrow when they meet arch rivals Al Nasr, the second team in
the standing.
The match is the old Dubai local derby. From the late 1960s and even
before the establishment of the UAE FA, the two clubs have been competing
to win the trophies and titles in Dubai.
The two clubs have won 19 major titles (league, President's Cup, Super Cup
and FA Cup) since the formation of the UAE FA in 1972. Al Ahli won the
league title thrice and the same goes for Al Nasr. At the same time Al
Ahli won the President's Cup five times and Al Nasr thrice; Al Nasr also
won the FA Cup four times and the Super Cup once.
Their league match tomorrow at the Al Ahli Club will be very tough due to
their position in the table and the excellent start for both in the league
this season. Al Ahli, after their exit from the Asian Champions League,
won all the league games they have played in the last weeks.
They won valuable points away from home by defeating top contenders Al Ain
and Jazira. Al Ahli settled for the Iranian Jawad Qazimyan as the second
foreign striker to play along with the gifted Ali Karimi, who is playing
the second successive season with Al Ahli.
Karimi led Al Ahli to become the strongest forward line scoring 29 goals
in nine matches while conceding 16 goals. Al Ahli, under the Croatian
coach Juricic Srecko, who joined the team last season and led them to win
the President's Cup for the fifth time, is showing its best form. The
young players Salim Khamis, Hasan Ali Ibrahim, Adil Abdul Aziz, Jasim
Akbar, Mohammed Qassim, Hasan Ali Abbas, Khalid Shah Dad, Mohammed Hamada,
Ahmed Shah, have gained more experience and are ready to win titles. Al
Ahli for the last time won the league 22 years ago.
Al Nasr, under the French coach Rene Exbrayat, who began with the team in
the current season, showed tremendous standard, which is their best in
recent years. Al Nasr will be looking to win tomorrow's match against Al
Ahli to top the standing and compensate for the loss of nine points, in
the form of three drawn encounters and and losing one match.
Al Nasr, like Al Ahli, will also be looking to clinch the league title
after a 16 year's absence. The last time Al Nasr won the league title was
in 1986.
Al Nasr's encounters tomorrow and next week's crucial match against Al Ain
will be a real test for the French coach and his players, if they want to
prove they are capable of winning the league title. They should beat Al
Ahli and Al Ain and win the six points to finish the first round on top of
the table.
Al Nasr have the strongest defence line. They conceded seven goals in nine
matches and their front liners scored 20 goals. Al Nasr's goalkeeper
Mubarak Yaqoot is playing his best season with the team and his defenders
Mohammed Khamis, brothers Abdullah and Mohammed Rabie and Khamis Salim are
rock solid at the backline.
The midfield is led by Moroccan Hisham Zarwali along with brothers Salah
and Ali Abbas and Qazim Ali. French striker Semba and Walid Murad
spearhead the frontline. Semba is the second top goalscorer in the league
with eight goals in nine matches. |
