Tagliabue targets AGL title with Al Wahda this season
FOREIGN PLAYER OF THE YEAR SAYS AL AHLI AND AL AIN ARE CATCHABLE
l Wahda striker Sebastian Tagliabue is confident of catching Al Ahli and Al Ain in pursuit of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) title this season.
The 31-year-old Argentine won Foreign Player of the Year and top scored with 25 goals in 26 games last season, helping The Clarets secure the Arabian Gulf League Cup title, reach third in the AGL, and qualify to the Asian Champions League (ACL).
All of this was achieved in Mexican coach Javier Aguirre’s first season in charge, but with the experience of that debut campaign under his belt the expectations are now greater for this season, which kicks-off on September 16 when Al Wahda travel to newly promoted Hatta.
Speaking at Adidas’ Speed of Light boot launch at Dubai Sports World on Wednesday, Tagliabue said he believes the Abu Dhabi club could now mount a serious challenge for the league title. “It will be difficult to catch Al Ahli and Al Ain because they are the two best teams in the UAE and they have two teams each. If there are players missing they are able to make strong changes,” he said.
‘We can do it’
“But we can do it, we also have good players who are improving every year, we may have lost some silly points in games last season, but if we give it 100 per cent in every game we can win one or two championships this season.
“We will try to repeat our League Cup win but it would better to get the League championship or President’s Cup. We also want to reach the latter stages of the Champions League and I want to be league top scorer again, but for this I need my team.”
The former Argentine third tier and Saudi Arabian premier league top scorer added that Aguirre’s intervention was pivotal to The Claret’s success.
“He’s the best coach I’ve had in my career until now,” said Tagliabue, who joined Al Wahda from Riyadh’s Al Shabab in July 2013 and signed a two-year extension in December. “I was surprised he didn’t win Coach of the Year because it’s not easy to come here and win something in your first season. Before he came here we had one or two coaches who had a very difficult time,” he added in reference to Karol Jarolim, Jose Peseiro and Sami Al Jaber. “But Javier got the best out of us, and now he is ready to work for more.”
Along with Tagliabue, Al Wahda’s other foreign stars; Chilean attacking midfielder Jorge Valdivia and South Korean defender Rim Chang-woo, are expected to be retained for the forthcoming campaign. There had been reports that the club were looking to offload Brazilian midfielder Denilson for another striker, but this has yet to be confirmed by the club. Brazilian attacking midfielder Ronaldo Mendes has joined Al Wasl on a five-year deal from Comercial Vicosa, it was confirmed on Wednesday.
Mendes, 23, is new Argentine coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s first signing since joining the club last month, and replaces Brazilian forward Rogerinho who returns to Kuwait SC after the completion of a six-month loan.
Al Wasl, who finished sixth in the Arabian Gulf League last season under Argentine former coach Gabriel Calderon, will retain Brazilian midfield and forward pairing Fabio de Lima and Caio Correa, but will need to find a replacement for Portuguese midfielder Hugo Viana after he was released at the end of last season.
Elsewhere, newly promoted Hatta Club have signed Burkinabe forward Issiaka Ouedraogo from Austria’s Wolfsberger, Romanian pair Adrian Ropotan, a defender, and Mihai Radut, a midfielder, both from Romania’s Pandurii Targu Jiu, and Jordanian winger Yaseen Al Bakhit from Jordan’s Al Faisaly.
Dibba Fujairah are also on the verge of signing Ivorian winger Hamed Kone from Romania’s Voluntari in what would be their second buy under new Portuguese coach Paulo Sergio since South Korean defender Heo Jae-won from Qatar’s Al Khor.
Newly promoted Ittihad Kalba have retained Romanian striker Mihai Costea, after the arrivals of Iraqi defender Salam Shaker from Saudi Arabia’s Al Fateh, Burkinabe striker Yahia Kebe from Qatar’s Al Kharaitiyat and Spanish striker Camelo Gonzalez from Thailand’s Suphanburi.