Sparky’s Column

UAE Olympic Team are the Sporting Highlight of 2010

Their silver medal got me thinking about a training session I watched around four years ago at Al Wasl Club. I visited the club to speak to one of the coaches one Friday morning, however the person I was due to meet didn't arrive. I was not a happy man and trudged through the car park muttering various things about time keeping. At the same time a group of players made their way onto the training pitch. This was at the start of October so it was warm and not, in my English opinion, football weather. Since I was there, I stayed to watch the session - the conditions were not exactly ideal for hard work but the squad worked for an hour and a half in the desert heat. I briefly chatted to one of the support staff and he enthused about how this was the best group he had seen!

 It is only in the last couple of years that the hard work on the training pitch has brought silverware and hope of a World Cup in 2014. The performance of the UAE Olympic Team at the Asian Games has showed that the young guns of the UAE are ready to make the step to the big time. There's a feeling that the 20 years of hurt since the last World Cup could soon be over. The team, which has largely been together since Under 16 level, has shown enough resolve to take the step to the promised land. If they do, I think the hours on the sweltering training pitch will be worth the reward. The Asian Games performance is easily the UAE's sporting moment of 2010.

 As the flags and streamers were being cleared up from the Asian Games closing ceremony, the fifth round of Etisalat Cup fixtures kicked off. The dust has settled now and we have a clear view of the semi-finals. The top four contenders include two of the usual suspects - former winners Al Ain and Al Jazira. The team that most would be surprised to see in the mix is Al Nasr. They were the Manchester United of the UAE, the oldest club with the most success, glamour and history. They even managed to lure the then England coach Don Revie to coach the team in the late 70's. The decline in performances has been gradual since the 80's, the last League title was in 1986, Emir Cup in 1989 and the most recent bit of silverware, the now defunct Union Cup in 2002. A Club with a glorious history always has a shadow looming large over the present day. The semi-finals of the Etisalat Cup will offer some hope that they can step out of the shade.