SME-Written by/Mohammed Al Joker
Our teams stumbled in the two Asian Football Championships, as Al Ain lost by five goals to Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh in the Elite Championship, while Sharjah lost by three goals to Sepahan of Iran in Doha in the Asian Champions League 2. It was clear that our teams were unable to win, despite fielding a large number of non-national players. This reflects a normal situation, because the level of the competitors was better in terms of technical, skill and physical skills. The coaches had nothing to do with this loss, as they were given the names of the players and the lists ready, without having a role or opinion, and they may be asked sometimes.
It is clear that player selections are made according to the knowledge of player agents, and this is a weak point in club administrations, with regard to dealing with contracts, which are made via videotapes, and thus, the essential role that coaches are supposed to play in selections is negated, whether it is a foreign or resident player, and here is the crux of the matter, because the participation of these in such a large number will harm Emirati football, as we have written, said and repeated over and over again, and I do not know why this insistence and adherence to convictions that do not serve our football reality, but rather reflect negatively, and affect the general level of the first national team, as the voices that we hear and read on social media are emotional voices, focusing on the aspect of winning and losing temporarily. In football, several factors play major roles in the development of performance, tactics and methods. Who can deny the reputation of the two great coaches, the Argentine Hernan Crespo, coach of Al Ain, and the Romanian Olario Cosmin, coach of Sharjah? Therefore, we should reconsider the matter of quick and daily contracts, because they bring in ready-made players, without studying and knowing the team’s need for them. I hope that we return to the right path and return to the normal situation, with the number of foreign players not exceeding five, with four participating and the fifth as a reserve, as was the case at the beginning of the professional era. Today, when our teams play in regional and continental tournaments, we find that the number of local players is much less than the number of foreign players, and therefore this policy should be reconsidered. The football system spends a lot without achieving anything. How long will the situation remain like this? We are in the era of amateurs, and with local players, we were competing for championships. Accordingly, correction is necessary, and this is a trust that we all bear responsibility for. And God is behind the intention.
