It is just the beginning: Rodolfo
dubai — Rodolfo Arruabarrena is creating a bit of a revolution at the Zabeel Stadium and trying to return Al Wasl, one of the storied clubs in the UAE top flight, to where they belong.
The Cheetahs have seven League titles to their name but the last of them came in the 2006-07 season. It has been a bit of a long wait, so to speak, with many managerial casualties along the way. But Arruabarrena seems to be in the process of stamping a fine imprint on this team. His players have bought into his style of play, which is laden with intensity, aggressiveness and attitude. And that has meant that Al Wasl have had a great start to the new season of the Arabian Gulf League, with four wins.
All four have been on the trot and the latest was the dismantling of Al Sharjah on Thursday night. But the Argentine Arruabarrena, formerly the coach of Boca Juniors, says “it is just the beginning. We can do much better than this,” said Arruabarrena.
“We have to take care of all the things and not get carried away. If we did that, it would be dangerous. We have to show the same attitude, hunger and aggressiveness in all the matches and also come up with a good style of play. But like I always say, it is just the beginning,” added the 41-year-old.
The Cheetahs tore into Al Sharjah and forced Giorgos Donis’ men into a corner, although the 2-0 scoreline didn’t suggest that. And Arruabarrena felt that his team pushed Al Sharjah into defensive mode. “I didn’t think before the match that it would be like this. I expected a tougher game. But maybe, we as a team and our style of play, we forced them (Al Sharjah) to be defensive. Al Sharjah are a good team but perhaps my team played in a good way. And I would like to think that my team made Sharjah play that way,” he said.
Meanwhile, Giorgos Donis, who joined in the summer from Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal, said that it was a poor performance and they would have to reflect on it. “We didn’t deserve anything from this game with this performance. Our performance was bad and we made plenty of mistakes,” he added.
james@khaleejtimes.com