The Arabian Gulf League opened its 2020/21 season in the weekend.
After seven months of hiatus and cancellation of the previous season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first matchday of the new season produced some attractive plays, interesting stories and a goal-shower.
Goals, Goals, Goals
29 goals in seven matches. Let that sink in. The first day of the Emirati league was simply a goal-fest, that highlighted who work hard during the long break, and who didn’t.
Al-Wahda, Al-Dhafra, Bani Yas and Sharjah, all thrashed their opponents this way or another, scoring at least four goals each. Al-Wahda looks fresh and ready for the season, with their shining replacement for the eternal Sebastian Tagliabúe, who left the club recently after almost a decade. Tim Matavž scored a brace, looked dominant and in general look like a striker that can rise in Emirati football.
Al-Ain looked solid and won 2-0 against Khorfakkan, as well as Shabab Al-Ahli who notched three goals without an answer, in a great display.
Sharjah, the “reigning” champions struggled at the beginning against Fujairah, but in the end, almost as usual in a recent couple of years in this league, they had Igor Coronado.
Al Wasl as a Test Case
The biggest disappointment of the first day was Al Wasl Dubai. The yellow team from Zabeel Stadium looked poor against Bani Yas and eventually lost 1-4. The result has raised many questions regarding the team’s coach, Romanian Laurentiu Reghecampf. Reghecampf, who previously worked at Al-Hilal Riyadh and Al-Wahda, again got a role in a prominent club in the Gulf, mainly thanks to his agent-wife, Anamaria Prodan. Al-Waslays has the talent within their squad, with Fabio De Lima being the main man, but without a clear philosophy, this will be another season that will go to the bin.
Instead of producing a display and a statement on the first day, Al Wasl is in line with teams as Ajman and Hatta, who arrived unprepared for the intensity of the top flight, and lost 0-6 and 1-4, respectively.
History in the Making
“Dia Saba, the player who came from the Chinese League, a member of the Israeli national team, is on for Al-Nasr against Al-Jazira…”
A month ago, and this phrase would make you close down the tab and never read BabaGol again. But thanks to Al-Nasr Dubai, and the player, the first matchday of the Arabian Gulf League produced some regional history when for the first time ever an Israeli international played in an Arab league.
Saba entered in the 74th minute but failed to make a serious impact on the game, that was the equal fixture of all, between two strong teams that will fight hard this year.
In recent years, Saba made a shift from the playmaker role, to the forward/striker position. It will be interesting to see how coach Krunoslav Jurcic will use him, and if he will be able to show his qualities in a league that is more aggressive and tough than the Chinese league.
Another player that got a reminder of how tough defenders and defensive-mids in this league can be tough is Omar Amoory Abdulrahman, who found himself on the ground several times, including one incident where he held his knee in what looked for a sec as a serious injury. Amoory will have to stay healthy and complete a full season to put the injuries behind him, and it will be interesting to follow how it develops.
In the game itself, Ryan Mendes stole the show with an early goal for Al-Ameed, but Al-Jazira has so much quality with Khalfan Mubarak and Abdalla Ramadan, that the equaliser was a matter of time. Ali Mabkhout did it, and the final result was 1-1.
Photo via Al-Nasr Dubai official Twitter account.
