Clubs eye early momentum as second round begins today

Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter

All Pro League clubs will bid to climb up the ladder and consolidate their position in the standings as the second round gets under way on Friday.

Ajman and Emirates will get the ball rolling to kick-start the second round, which will be played across three days. Both the clubs will look to bounce back from their first round defeats.

Emirates, who got the promotion to the top flight, were off to a losing start despite roping in Spanish legend Andres Iniesta. Emirates will bank on Iniesta to lead from the front deliver them the first victory of the season.

He can be effective to bring a big change in the fortunes of Emirates and help them remain there.  Having plied his trade at the Spanish giants Barcelona in trophy-laden career, Iniesta has skills and experience both to live up to the expectation of the club.

The second match of the day will feature a blockbuster Al Jazira-Al Wahda match. Al Jazira have a chance to go on the top provisionally with a victory against Al Wahda at the Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium. They are at the second spot behind leaders Shabab Al Ahli, who are not in action till Sunday.

Al Jazira have made sweeping changes in the squad with the signing of a new coach and four overseas players. They have bolstered the squad and look set to mount a serious challenge for the title.

Under the new coach Frank de Boer of the Netherlands, they have got their campaign off to a positive start by beating Dubai club Al Nasr in the opener.

They signed Brazilian midfielder Fernando Lucas Martin and Dutch midfielder Karim Rakik to boost defence while they also added tooth to their attack by signing Spanish forward Alejandro Pozuelo.

Pozuelo has already made his intentions clear by announcing that he has joined Al Jazira to help them lift the trophy this year. He was straight away into business, scoring his first goal for Al Jazira in the opening game.

He along with playmaker Ali Mabkhout, who won the Golden Ball Award for his exploits with the club for the third consecutive year, makes a lethal combination in attack. While Lucas Martin and Rakik give more options to the coach in the midfield.

Moving on to the second day, Al Ain can also climb up the ladder should they beat Hatta convincingly by at least three goals. After the completion of the first round top four teams, who have started their campaign with a victory, are separated by only goal difference not points.

Al Ain also named a new coach. They have shown their trust in Alfred Schreuder of the Netherlands. He has served time as an assistant coach of Spain’s Barcelona and Hoffenheim of Germany in the top flight while he was the head coach in Ajax and Brugge before moving to Al Ain.

Al Ain look set to launch the title charge with a full throttle. They have signed three overseas players along with a new coach. Kaku of Argentina is the most high profile signing of Al Ain this year for a reported fee of five million dollars.

Yong-woo Park of Korea South joined Hatta, who were also promoted to the top flight after two years of absence. They will look to bounce back after their loss in the opening round. Under the new manager Zeljko Markov of Serbia, Hatta is set to embark on a new journey. Markov’s first task would be to help Hatta remain afloat in the top flight. And for that they have to build the momentum from the beginning.

Fresh from their victory against Iran’s Tractor in an AFC Champions League match, a buoyant Sharjah will look to carry their form into the Pro League.

A resilient Sharjah, who put up a stellar performance to beat Tractor in an away match, moved into the group stage of the continental championship for the fourth time consecutively, will face Al Wasl challenge in their second round match.

Sharjah are one the three clubs, who have retained their coaches. Sharjah’ manager Cosmin Olariou won the Best Coach of the year award for winning three trophies – Super Cup, President’s Cup and ADIB Cup -- last year. The master strategist vowed to put up  better performance in the league and finish in the top three.

Al Wasl, who are among one of the eight clubs in the Pro League to have appointed a new manager, will bid to extend their winning streak to gain the early momentum in the season.

Al Wasl finished the last season trophy-less. With the new manager Milos Milosevic of Serbia, the Dubai club has a chance to improve their performance. They signed Spanish club Celta’s Harris Seferovic to sharpen their attack.

Leaders Shabab Al Ahli are coming back into their second round match on the back of a defeat against Saudi’s Al Nassr in their Champions League match. After getting off to a winning start, they will look to put their campaign back on the track with a victory over Khorfakkan, who defeated Ajman in their opening match of the season.