Athletes: There is a secret in the sweetness of the 2022-2023 edition.. Others confirm:

Clubs jostling at the top is not evidence of the strength of the professional league

• Sharjah and Al Wasl are among the clubs competing for the top spot.

  Photography: Osama Abu Ghanem

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Athletes confirmed that the title of the strongest version cannot be called the current 2022-2023 edition of the ADNOC Professional League, which was launched in 2008, noting that the convergence in the number of points between the clubs in the standings, and the presence of seven teams in the title race, is not a measure on These clubs will continue to compete in the upcoming rounds.

There are three teams in the first place after the ninth round: Sharjah, Al Wahda and Shabab Al Ahli, each with 19 points. Al Wasl comes fourth with 18 points, and Al Jazira and Ittihad Kalba, the fifth and sixth places, have 17 points, while Al Ain comes seventh with 16 points.

They told "Emirates Today" that the strong public attendance is exceptional, pointing to several reasons that contributed to the public momentum that gave the league matches great excitement, most notably that the current version of the competition came after a period of longing for the public, due to the repercussions of the Corona virus pandemic, in addition to The great work of the club administrations is to attract the public to encourage the players and go to the stadiums.

Huge difference in levels

For his part, the sports analyst and head of the Al-Ahly Youth Club Academy, Antar Marzouk, confirmed that the great convergence in the difference in points between the clubs that compete for the top of the ADNOC Professional League ranking list is not an indication that the current version is the strongest in the history of the professional league, pointing out that this The closeness may be an indicator of the fluctuation of club levels, which contributed to the instability of any team to provide a strong return in all matches.

Marzouk said that since the beginning of the season, no team has presented stable levels, and there is a great discrepancy in levels in various matches, explaining: “Looking at the clubs that compete for the first places in the ranking list, we find that, for example, the Sharjah team, which was nominated by many as the most prominent candidate. To win the title, he has not yet provided the expected return from him, and lost twice at home to Al Wasl and Al Wahda, while he narrowly won over Al Bataeh, and the same thing over Al Dhafra with a penalty kick in the deadly time.

He added, "Currently, Al-Wahda and Al-Ahly youth are the two teams that are moving in an ascending fashion, especially since (Al-Annabi) made a change in the technical staff by contracting with Spanish coach Jimenez, instead of Portuguese Carlos Carvalhal, and I see that contracting with Al-Masry Ahmed Refaat is one of the most prominent deals of the season, He is presenting great levels, and Al-Wahda has become a very influential player in the offensive side of the left front.”

He continued, "The same is true for Al-Ahly youth, who won four consecutive matches, and the team's performance has improved in general, but I see that Al-Wahda has foreign players who are at a better level."

And he talked about the Al-Ain team, and said: "The title holder did not appear at the level expected of him, and there is fluctuation in the level of players, and the team achieves victory with difficulty, as whenever the team's results improve, it returns to stumble again, and I expect that the next pause period due to the establishment of the 2022 World Cup competitions, It will contribute significantly to many clubs adjusting their conditions for the better, and what helps in this is the absence of frustration or despair about continuing the competition, after the past rounds witnessed a great convergence in levels and points difference.”

On the other hand, Antar Marzouk praised the audience’s attendance of the matches, and said: “The audience’s attendance is one of the most prominent positives, and I see that the return of the fans to the stands is not related to the fact that the current version of the league came after a difficult period due to the repercussions of the emerging Corona virus pandemic in the last two years, but I see that The clubs have worked well in attracting the public in many ways, and we hope that the crowd will continue to have a strong presence in all matches.”

illogical results

For his part, sports analyst and former Al-Jazira club player Rakan Al-Ajmi said that the expansion of the competition for the ADNOC Pro League title after nine rounds of the competition is not a positive measure that the current edition is the strongest in the history of the professional league.

Al-Ajmi explained that the decline in the club's levels contributed to the illogical variation in the results of the matches in many matches.

He added, "Many clubs have attracted very good players during the last transfer period, but we have seen a great fluctuation in the levels of all teams without exception, and that some teams lose points easily while showing excellent levels in strong matches."

He continued, “Sometimes the motivation is different when the clubs competing for the top play against each other, but at the same time, the absence of psychological preparation and concentration and the decline in the levels of some players contributed to the loss of many points that were not expected to be lost, and in the end we saw a great convergence of points between the clubs. in the ranking list.

He pointed out that since the beginning of the season, there are some clubs that many expected to be the most prominent, but they did not provide the expected return. The team, and the same for defending champion Al-Ain, while Al-Wasl started the season strongly and then lost points that they were not supposed to lose.”

He continued, "I expect that there will be a big change in the standings after the next two rounds, and that the competition will be limited to only four clubs, in addition to the clubs that will do well in the winter transfer period, will be able to continue their appearance well until the end of the season."

Exceptional version

For his part, the former Al Wasl and Ajman defender, Hassan Zahran, confirmed that there are several things that came together at one time to make the current version of the league championship exceptional in every sense of the word.

He said: "Social networking sites have become very attractive to us, and there are many pages and accounts of followers that attracted the fans and made them excited about the matches days before the matches. ».

He added: “The fans in the stands, the level of foreign players, as well as the citizens, and the excitement and clubness present in every match, made the league from everyone’s point of view different. Which party will win it, and this has limited a lot of follow-up and interest in the competition.”

He stated, "I wished to be present in the stadiums in light of this fun and exciting atmosphere, as the football player loves to play in such an atmosphere, which doubles the effort in training and matches as well."

Exchange in the right place

The former Al-Ahly youth player, Issa Obaid, believes that the level of foreign players and the increase in their number in the league this season, which is the first reason for the strength of the competition this season.

He said: "The Professional League has contributed greatly by its decision to increase the number of foreign players, to the high level of competition in which seven clubs are wrestling, and this great competition has not been witnessed in the competition for several years."

He added: “The development of clubs in such a big way has pushed the fans to come to the stands. The fan will not attend the match stadium without guaranteeing himself to enjoy his team first, and the league matches. , in order to ensure that it brings benefit to her and to the league, as well as to the national team.”

He pointed out, “I expect in the coming years that the league will be stronger than this season, as the clubs have begun to know their way to success, whether in terms of results, performance or the way to attract the public to it, and it has become difficult for them to retreat for any reason, especially since the way teams are prepared. It is no longer as difficult as it was in the past, after expanding the base of foreign and resident players.”

Issa Obaid expressed his admiration for the Ajman and Al-Ittihad teams, and their advanced level this season, no less than the teams competing in the league.

He said: "Many may not be surprised by the presence of teams such as Al-Ahly, Sharjah, Al-Wahda, Al-Ain, Al-Jazira and Al-Wasl in the competition, because they are big teams, and they have the expertise and ingredients for competition, but what attracted me personally are Ajman and Kalba, who offer a very advanced football, and I expect them to be influential in determining The struggle for the title.

Exciting, enthusiastic and dewy

On the other hand, the former Al-Jazira and Al-Wasl player, international Youssef Abdel Aziz, confirmed that the public attendance gave the ADNOC League excitement, enthusiasm and club, and made the level of the championship different this season than before.

He said, "It is true that there are more than seven clubs competing for the league title, and there are prominent names who attended from strong leagues, but the real secret of the league's strength remains the mass attendance, which made the current version the most prominent among all the tournaments that were held in the past."

He added: “Personally, I did not follow the UAE league well, except for a few matches, especially in which Al Jazira is a party with one of the strong teams, but the situation is different for me this season, and I am eagerly waiting for each round to enjoy the public presence and the strength of the competition currently taking place in Introduction".

Abdulaziz said: “The football player loves such a crowd and enthusiasm that is in the stands, and this pushes him to present 200% of his level to get out in the best way from the field, so we found the level close between all the teams, and it became difficult to expect the winner of this title.” season".

He continued, "In the past, we used to enjoy the fans of Al Jazira, Al Ain and Al Wasl, who often have a presence in the stands, regardless of the status of their teams in the league. Today, the numbers of these fans have increased than before, along with the fans of Al Wahda, Sharjah and even the fans of the Kalba and Ajman Union." You are attending in large numbers, so parity in the stands is the same as in the stadium.”

Youssef Abdel Aziz ruled out that the fans will retreat from the mass attendance in the stands, with the competition shrinking in the coming seasons.

He said: “I do not expect that the stands will return empty, because as I said before, the competition will continue until the last round between at least four or five teams, and the club that wants to continue receiving public support must remain in the competition and support its ranks well during the transfer period. Winter, so that he does not find himself walking alone in the championship.”

• The league is witnessing a convergence in the number of points between clubs, and there are 7 clubs in the title race.

• The difference between the first and seventh places is only three points, after nine rounds have passed.

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