Sparky’s Column

The Pro-League Continues to Give Us Plenty to Talk About

Cannavaro, like the Romans before him, came, saw and conquered in his home debut last week. The 4-1 victory was no doubt a relief after the loss against Al Dhafra. The pressure visibly disappeared after the early goal was scored and Al Ahli were relaxed enough to dominate proceedings. The 4-1 scoreline was greeted with a huge smile by the Italian and a rush of Al Wasl players trying to swap shirts. I get the feeling that Al Ahli will have to make provision for a lot Cannavaro shirts this season. The interview after the game was a joy to behold. The fact that the interviewer couldn't speak Italian and the interviewee couldn't speak Arabic didn't matter. The smiles from the player said it all and it shows what a difference a win makes.

Al Wahda's Laszlo Boloni has been relieved of his duties. The defeat against Emirates in the Super Cup did not bode well for Josef Hickersberger's replacement. The season curtain raiser is a final preparation game for the season but when you lose to a lower division side it raises a few eyebrows. The defeat that followed on the opening day of the Etisalat Pro-League was already one loss too far and not even a win could not save the Romanian. The replacement signed to the end of the season is Brazilian Adenor Bacchi. The coach has experience of the UAE having coached at Al Ain in 2006. The most recent posting for him was at Internacional of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Al Wahda will play in the World Club Championships later this year and the board of Club obviously made the appointment with one eye on December. Time will tell if the Etisalat Pro-League's newest coach will get a chance to put one over on his former club, the Copa Libertidores winners.

The League table makes for interesting reading, even if it's just two games into the campaign. The maximum number of points any team could have is obviously six. The eye catching part is the positions. It could almost be the table come the end of the campaign.

The newly promoted clubs Dubai and Kalba sit at the foot of the table. Kalba was always going to find it difficult, teams from the East Coast haven't had the best track record in the top division. Dubai has been the yo-yo team, up and down every few seasons. They will be desperate for their stay to be more than one season.

Al Ain sit on top and Al Jazira second. The fear for the Capital giants is that they finish there in May 2011, runners-up is a tag they are desperate to shake off. The current champions sit in 8th position - the previous three title holders have all struggled in the following season. There is a long way to go but will the table have a similar look come the end of the season?

From the next round, the League fixtures will be staggered with early and late kick-off times. The earlier kick-off will give families the chance to visit the stadiums. Al Jazira has taken the chance to distribute thousands of half-season passes to all games. The real test of people's appetite for football in the Capital will be in the next fixture versus Al Wahda on September 16 at 8pm. The rest of the League will be looking to see if the experiment works.

Watch this space or better still fill the space in the stadium for the next round!

 

Mark 'Sparky' Pendergast