Al Fardan makes a return to Al Nasr
Welcome to the cradle of football in the UAE. You have come to a house of blues and a beautiful memory. This is Al Nasr, here is hope and here is glory
Al Nasr website
dubai — Emirati midfielder Habib Al Fardan has made a return to his former employers Al Nasr, the club confirmed on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old UAE international, who played with The Blues from 2008 to 2014, penned a three-year deal after he was found surplus to requirements by new Shabab Al Ahli boss Jose Luis Sierra. His contract with the Al Qusais Club was not renewed.
“Al Nasr Football Company signed with Habib Al Fardan for three seasons. The contract came within the framework of the keenness of Al Nasr Football Company to strengthen the ranks of the first team in preparation for the new season,” Al Nasr said on their official website on Tuesday.
“Welcome to the cradle of football in the UAE. You have come to a house of blues and a beautiful memory. This is Al Nasr, here is hope and here is glory,” the club said in a welcome message.
Al Fardan, who will don the No.10 jersey, is scheduled to join the club’s pre-season camp in the Dutch city of Horst soon. Al Fardan, who previously wore the No.4 jersey at both Al Nasr and Al Ahli (now Shabab Al Ahli), becomes the fourth Emirati to join Al Nasr. Defender Mohammed Marzooq joined from Shabab Al Ahli, while exciting young striker Mohamed Al Akbari made the switch from last year’s League runners-up Al Wahda.
Midfielder Al Hussain Saleh has arrived on a season-long loan from Emirates, while defender Mohammed Ali Ayed has joined from Al Jazira.
They join former Paris-Saint Germain, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace playmaker and French international Yohan Cabaye, striker Iury Lirio and Samuel Rosa, as coach Ivan Jovanovic plots an assault on a first League title since the 1985-86 season. The Blues had finished runners-up in the 2012 season. Apart from the domestic front, Al Nasr will also be aiming to make it to the AFC Champions League through the play-offs.
Al Nasr finished fourth in the Arabian Gulf League last season.
Apart from helping Al Nasr achieve their ambitions in the domestic competitions — the Arabian Gulf League, the Arabian Gulf Cup and the President’s Cup, as well as the AFC Champions League playoff, Fardan will look to use his return as a springboard to make a comeback to the UAE National team.
The attacking midfielder, capped 53 times by the UAE, was left out of coach Alberto Zaccheroni’s 27man squad for the first camp in Salzburg, Austria. But with the Italian saying that the door remains open for any player who impresses, Al Fardan could return to the scheme of things for the AFC Asian Cup on home soil early next year.
Al Fardan won the League title with Shabab Al Ahli as well as the Arabian Gulf Cup and the Arabian Gulf Super Cup. He was also part of the squad that finished runnersup to China’s Guangzhou Evergrande in the AFC Champions League in 2015.