Sparky’s Column

The England Connection

Al Nasr hit the headlines worldwide this week by beating 1860 Munich to the punch in securing the services of Sven Goran Eriksson this week. The Swede brings a wealth of experience having coached in countries across two continents including most famously England. He was the first foreign coach of the national team in the self-proclaimed home of football.  He had as successful a time as any coach in modern history before the inevitable scrutiny of the media became too much and the two parted ways. The England episode of the Swedes career bares a similarity to another former coach who ended up on the shores of the UAE.  Don Revie managed the UAE national team and then moved to Al Nasr to impart his knowledge on a young Emirati side. Many credit him with bringing in the first ideas of professionalism to the country when sowed the seeds for qualification to the 1990 World Cup. The two had less than savoury ends to their England careers and where probably appreciated more for what they achieved after they left the role. Al Nasr have a track record with former England managers and the club will be hoping for the same level of success this time round with Sven Goran Eriksson in the Director of Football role.

Omar Abudulrahman showed that his mind was firmly in the present as he put in a man of the match performance for Al Ain as they won 4-0 to extend their lead at the top of the table to 9 points.  Many thought the absence of Asamoah Gyan for the African Cup of Nations would be the chasing packs best chance to gain some ground on the reigning champions. The club barely noticed the difference and this means that Al Ahli, Bani Yas and Al Jazira are looking at a mountain to climb to catch the champions.

Al Jazira and Al Ahli nullified each other in an entertaining 2-2 draw. The result achieves little for both teams in their chase for the championship. In fact the only winner with the draw is Al Ain.  Al Nasr managed a victory in front of Sven and it keeps them in touch with the Champions League spots and means the title challenge is not dead just yet.