Sparky’s Column

Let the preparations for the second half of the season begin

It's not the first time I have done this and I feel it won't be the last this season... let's welcome another coach to the Etisalat Pro-League. The latest member of the club is Alexandre Gallo and unsurprisingly he is Brazilian. The UAE's love affair with all things Samba continues with yet another coach employed from the world's biggest footballing nation. He has worked previously as assistant to former Real Madrid coach Luxemburgo at Santos as well as managing FIFA Club World Cup winning Internacional. Al Ain have obviously got their new man in with one eye on the AFC Champions League. His only previous experience in Asia was managing FC Tokyo in Japan in 2006. The team did not play in the Champions League that season so his experience in the competition is limited to say the least. He will be expected to hit the ground running with Al Ain as they look to claw themselves up the table but I am sure the Board's main reasoning behind the decision is to have a side prepared for the group stages of the Champions League which begin in March.

It's not the first goalkeeper Al Ain have employed as a coach, former Inter goalie Walter Zenga was at the helm. The spell ended in failure for Zenga and Al Ain after a short spell in the hot seat. Their fans will be hoping that the new chief will lift the Club out of the lower reaches of the League and improve a leaky defence.

Bani Yas have done what I feared and slipped up in their chase of Al Jazira at the top of the table. The 1-0 loss to Al Ahli means the title is Al Jazira's to lose. They are now five points clear of Bani Yas on 29 points. The title race is starting to look over despite only  half the season being completed. The prize of AFC Champions League spots may be the thing that keeps interest alive. Al Ahli in 3rd and Sharjah in 8th have just two points separating them. This leaves seven teams with a realistic chance of Champions League football.

The second half of the season will almost be like starting again. I can't decide where the advantage will lie. A team like Al Wahda will lose five or six players to the national team. Does this mean players will be better prepared for the second half of the season as they have been performing at a high level or is it the teams that have had players resting that will have the advantage?  The season has relativity few games so burn out of players should not be a problem. The difficulty for the teams with all players remaining in the UAE may be meaningful training with no actual matches to prepare for. There are no hard and fast rules so teams will be left to try what works best for them. Whoever is successful at the end of the campaign will be hailed as having the best approach, simple really.