Diop set to make Al Ahli debut in ‘El Clasico’
dubai — Senegalese marksman Makhete Diop is set to make his Al Ahli debut in the ‘El Clasico’ against fierce rivals Al Ain on Saturday night after the Red Knights confirmed the acqusition of the 28-year-old from Al Dhafra, on Thursday evening.
The dangerous Diop, who had been courted by a host of top clubs in the UAE as well as the Middle East, ever since he set foot on these shores in 2011, joins the defending Arabian Gulf League champions on a three-and-a-half year deal. He will don the No.99 jersey, the same number which he had at The Western Knights.
And Diop will have little time get settled in his new enviroment with the Senegalese sniper set to be thrown into the caulderon that is the iconic Hazza bin Zayed Stadium against Al Ain, in the rearranged League fixture.
The match was part of the third round of the League, which had to be postponed because of Al Ain’s commitments in the AFC Champions League.
And Diop’s signing in the winter transfer window, in place of the injured Brazilian striker Rodrigo Lima, will be a whiff of fresh air for Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu, who has been left to scramble a fit squad to trot out against Al Ain.
The Red Knights have been plagued by injuries and suspensions and Olaroiu was a touch sarcastic at his pre-match presser when he said: “We have to find 10 players and if we get 10 it will be good. After the last game, we ended with a lot of problems. I have to know who are the players that are going to play and then choose how we are going to play.”
Defenders Salmin Khamis, Majed Hassan and Abdulaziz Haikal, Emirati frontman Ahmed Khalil, are all carrying a few niggles, while Brazilian playmaker Everton Ribeiro is serving a three-match suspension.
And the match comes five days after the two sides had squared off on Boxing Day, in the President’s Cup. That was a slightly ill-tempered fixture with Al Ain going on to win it 3-1 in extra time and put Al Ahli out of the Cup.
“We played against Al Ain a couple of days ago and it is the most beautiful game whenever we play against them. It is always a good game and you get to see really good football. It is a good opportunity to show good football,” said Olaroiu.