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Quique Flores leaves Al Ahli

Quique Flores has announced that he will leave Al Ahli after two years at the Club. In a press conference held at the Rashid Stadium today, Al Ahli Club Chairman of the Board of Directors H.E. Abdullah Saeed Al Nabooda thanked Flores for his outstanding services over the past two seasons before confirming that the professional relationship between Flores and Al Ahli is over, though ‘he shall always remain a brother and friend’.

Speaking at the press conference, an emotional Flores said: “This is a very sad day for me, but after two years together it’s time to say thank you and goodbye. It was a difficult decision but I have learnt that when you achieve success, sometimes it’s the moment to say thank you, move on, and let another coach take over and try to continue the success for the Club.” The Spaniard, who led Al Ahli to the Etisalat Cup title in 2011-2012 before winning the President’s Cup and finishing 2nd in the Etisalat Pro League this season, thanked the Chairman, Board of Directors, Sporting Director Roy Aitken, and all club staff and fans, but saved his greatest gratitude for the players. “My biggest thanks goes to the players of Al Ahli Club; they are amazing professionals and really showed me their dedication and how hard they can work,” the 48-year-old said, adding that he wishes them every success in future.

Chairman H.E. Abdullah Saeed Al Nabooda took questions after Flores’ departure, confirming that the Club had only been aware of the coach’s decision to leave for a matter of days and are yet to draw up a shortlist of potential candidates for the now-vacant head coach role. “If you look at Quique’s CV you can see there is a pattern that he stays at each club for two seasons and then moves on. We tried our best to stop this pattern from repeating but this is Quique’s decision,” Al Nabooda said. “It won’t be easy to replace him, he’s done an extremely good job, and his footballing capabilities are undoubted. Of course we are disappointed to lose him - Quique has done a great job with the improvement of the team and of the players as individuals - but life goes on and we have to pick someone who can continue the great work that has already been done, and not start all over again from scratch,” the Chairman added.