Sparky’s Column

League Champions

 

Al Ain are Champions of the Etisalat Pro League after a comfortable victory at the weekend. The team finished 10th last season just avoiding relegation so a remarkable turnaround is complete. It was fitting that they claimed the crown from last year's champions Al Jazira with a 2-0 win at home. The game was one of the rare moments that Asamoah Gyan didn't hit the back of the net. The Ghanaian has been instrumental in Al Ain gaining the title and he has hinted that he wants to stay in the UAE. He will be vital if Al Ain want to kick on in the AFC Champions League. He is a striker without peer on the continent and if Al Ain are keen to make a make on a continental stage next season then he is the man to do it.

 

Sharjah will be wistfully looking at the champions remembering when they were at the heady heights of UAE football.  They are lurching from one on field disaster to the next. The 3-0 loss to fellow relegation strugglers Dubai is a huge blow in the clubs fight for survival. It is almost unthinkable that a club with such a rich history could go down. They provided 9 players for the 1990 UAE World Cup squad and have previously won 5 league titles. Those heady days seem long since gone as the club desperately try to find a way out of their predicament.