Sparky’s Column

Cut off in their Prime

'Third time lucky' as the saying goes, and Josef Hickersberger will be hoping he is the living embodiment of the often-used cliche. It is not unusual for coaches to return a second time but three, is extremely rare. The only time I can remember it happening in England is with Howard Kendall of Everton. Each time he was re-employed by the club he was progressively less sucessful. The  factors that led to a decline in his success are well documented by fans of the club. The opposite is true with Josef Hickersberger; he has been brought in to steady the ship and each time he has succeeded. I know for a fact that he is extremely well thought of by all at the club for his professional and pragmatic approach to the game. It remains to be seen if he will be in charge past the end of  the season but the vast majority at the club will be happy to have him back.

Hickersberger's predecessor Ivankovic blamed the amount of injured players on the roster for his dimise. He has a point in that overseas signing Eric Mouloungui was unavailable the entire season, he also pointed to the fact that a number of players missed pre-season due to the Olympics. The outgoing coach will always blame everything but rarely himself. He can point to lots of factors but quite simply the team had underperformed all season and in the climate of the Pro League a change was inevitable.

"The Boss" failed to be just that as they crashed out of the AFC Champions League at the hands of Esteghlal of Iran. The result is as disappointing for UAE football as it is the club itself. Last season Bani Yas and Al Jazira both made it to the knock out stages with squads that on paper where not as good as Al Ain's. Coach Cosmin played down his sides chances and obviously rightly so as his prediction came true. I get the feeling that it won't be long before someone kicks on and makes the quarter finals but it will need that combination of luck and good form that hasn't happened for the UAE so far.

The UEFA Champions League match between Real Madrid and Dortmund will go down as a great night for German football but not for football journalism. Jose Mourinho was asked if he would be at Real next season. He was about to answer thus giving the channel a world exclusive when the interviewer cut him off saying "We have got to go!" The broadcaster was roundly criticised and not surprising when they had a world exclusive in the palm of their hands. It got me thinking about Al Ain's league championship celebrations and TV coverage of the festivities. It lasted a full hour or so after the match and interviewees all relaxed in comfy chairs whilst they answered every football related question and probably a few that weren't . There is no way in the world TV stations in the UAE would have let the Jose opportunity slip. I think in this case rather than looking West to learn, the West could look to the Middle East.