Sparky’s Column

Mum's the Word

Do you like goals? Do you really like goals? Then the opening weekend of the Proleague was where you could find them in abundance. Al Jazira picked up where they left off with a sensational performance putting Al Ahli to the sword with a 4-0 win. Bare rounding off what was a clinical performance by the champions. All eyes were on Zabeel Stadium and Al Wasl, the thrashing by Dubai Club put Maradona under intense scrutiny for the season opener. He and his team answered any questions about their ability with a clean sheet scoring three goals in the process. Oliveria the Uraguan striker  has been pretty quiet in the Etisalat Cup but he introduced himself to the league with a bang.

Diego himself dedicated the win to his Mum and Daughter on Mothers Day in Argentina. I usually only manage a bunch of flowers and a card, never have I gifted a win to my Mum but its a nice original present.

Attendances were up on the previous seasons opening day fixtures. There does seem to be a genuine interest amongst expats on the league this season. I spoke to a reporter from Gulf News and he commented that even the folks back home in India were asking about Maradona. It is strange to see the worlds media's with its eyes on the UAE. I receive email alerts when news pops up on the web about football  in this part of the world. The trend now is for stories to regularly appear on the worlds major sports website such as goal.com, ESPN and the BBC, it is a quantum leap forward from previous years.

The UAE mens team has endured mixed results in the last few matches, the team are still trying to emulate the success of the Gulf Cup in 2009.  The  women's team have gone from strength to strength in the same time period. They beat the Iran's women's team on penalties to win the Western Gulf Championship. Women's football is a huge growth sport and it would be magnificent if the females could develop to represent the region in FIFA competitions. Then Mothers could actually win game for themselves rather than just having Maradona dedicate victories in their direction.