Athletes: The level of the first round is modest...and a question mark about "foreigners and residents"

“Going to the league” .. excellent organizationally, without being ambitious technically

• The league teams suffered fluctuations in the technical level during the first round.

  Photography: Najeeb Mohamed

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Athletes and technical analysts described the technical level of the first round of the ADNOC Professional Football League as "below ambition", compared to the large number of resident and foreign players, and the large deals concluded by clubs with large players for huge sums, but they did not constitute the real addition that makes the league technically distinguished. Noting that, on the other hand, the first round was excellent on the organizational level by officials in the Professional League, especially at the level of public attendance (particularly in big matches), the smoothness of the audience’s entry and presence in the stands, and the good handling of the Professional League in terms of the media side, And the quality of the live broadcast of the matches.

They pointed out that there are several reasons behind the weak technical level of the league, including the big differences between the leaders (Shabab Al-Ahly 28 points), and Daba, who finished last with only four points, so the technical level fluctuated for large teams, such as Al Ain (the defending champion), who finished the role. The first is in seventh place, and the level of the leading teams currently occupied by Shabab Al-Ahly fluctuates, after it was previously occupied by Sharjah, Al-Wasl and Al-Bataeh.

Shabab Al-Ahly finished at the top of the first round with 28 points (the winter champion), while Al-Ain had topped the first round last season with 30 points, besides that the first round in the current season began as if the ranking of the teams during it consisted of only two divisions, one in front and the other At the lower level, there is no middle area.

The first round of the league also witnessed interruptions during the World Cup (Qatar 2022), in addition to other interruptions due to the team’s gatherings and connections, especially in terms of its recent participation in the Arab Gulf Cup that was held in Iraq, which affected the level of the teams and the competition in general and the “Rtem”. The players”, in addition to the lack of specific programs for alternative matches or competitions that could compensate the clubs for these many stops, enabling them to maintain the “technical pace” they were in, in addition to the fact that a large percentage of the players that the clubs attracted, whether they were citizens or Foreigners or residents, in addition to the big deals for some clubs, such as the Spanish striker Paco Alcacer, the Bosnian Pjanic and the Greek Manolas in Sharjah, did not provide the technical level that satisfies the ambition and attracts the crowd heavily to the stands.

The athletes told Emirates Today: "The modest technical level of the league was revealed by the reality of the national team, during its recent participation in the Arab Gulf Cup in Iraq."

The athletes explained: “Although there was excitement in the league, the technical return was modest, although this season was marked by the presence of a high percentage of foreign and resident players, after the Professional Association’s decision to increase their number to five instead of four, in addition to the presence of five players in the player category.” The resident, as well as the big names of foreign players with whom the clubs contracted, and the presence of big names for foreign coaches, and all these elements were supposed to contribute to the technical level of the league being better than what we saw in the first round, similar to the distinguished organization that the competition was in. »

They pointed out that among the positive points in the first round was the emergence of some clubs that were previously competing in middle or bottom positions, but are currently competing for advanced positions, such as: Al Wasl, Ajman and Ittihad Kalba.

The first round witnessed, according to the official website of the Professional League, 91 matches were held, during which 268 goals were scored, and the scoring rate was 2.98 goals per match.

The top scorers were: Al Jazira striker Ali Mabkhout and Al Ain striker Laba Kodjo, with 14 goals each, and Al Wahda player Joao Pedro and Al Wasl player Fabio de Lima came in second place, with 10 goals each.

For his part, the former and current coach of the national team, Dr. Abdullah Misfer, confirmed that he did not see during the first round a technical return equivalent to the value of the financial exchange that the clubs spent on player deals, whether they were citizens, residents or foreigners, stressing that with the presence of this large number Of the foreign and resident players, the technical level of the league was supposed to be better than what we saw, indicating that “based on the deals that the clubs attracted them, we expected the league to be on fire this season.”

Misfer added, “We did not see any team that was convincing in terms of the technical level in the first round.

Where is the title holder Al Ain?

He is currently in seventh place in the ranking of teams, and even the level of Al-Ahly youth was not technically convincing, although he topped the ranking of teams in the first league, and his technical level is not equal to the first place he occupies.

Mesfer pointed out that the level of the league so far is technically lower than expected, considering that compared to the large financial expenditures of some clubs, the technical level is less than hoped.

A former Football Association board member and technical analyst, Muhammad Matar Ghorab, said that the level of the league is not technically satisfactory, whether in terms of national, foreign or resident players, and this matter was revealed by the reality of the national team, during its recent participation in the Arab Gulf Cup in Iraq, stressing that The league witnessed excitement as a result of the close results of the teams, but technically, the situation was normal.

He added: «The financial value of the resident player is considered higher in some clubs than the foreign players, and therefore their technical returns must be greater than the foreign players, and there are also a number of national players, especially in the big clubs, whose financial value is great, and yet this matter was not reflected. On the technical return of the league in general ».

Ghorab explained: «The modest technical return to the level of the league in the first round in general, may have its reasons, whether it was at the level of coaches or players, since the first round witnessed many stops that were justified, and therefore we will not be able to blame a specific party in this regard. In addition to the absence of programming or other competitions that can compensate clubs for other matches that have witnessed interruptions, in a way that enables these clubs to maintain the physical aspect and the same technical pace as it was before the suspension, and therefore all these aspects have a direct impact on the technical level. for the league ».

In turn, the former Al-Nasr team manager and technical analyst, Khaled Obaid, indicated that one of the important observations is the issue of the clubs’ delay in their contracts at the beginning of the season, especially with foreign players, in addition to the poor tests of some clubs for foreign players who did not provide a convincing level, and this problem is still going on. What negatively affected the beginning of the league, and that some clubs did not complete their contracts with foreign players, calling on clubs to avoid the issue of delay in attracting players at the beginning of each season.

He added, "It is believed that the first round of the league in the current season is relatively better than the previous season, and the distinguished public attendance in most of the matches gave an incentive to the teams to play."

Obaid explained: "It is also a positive matter that some teams that were competing at the bottom are now competing for the four advanced positions, such as Ajman and Ittihad Kalba, and the number of teams competing for the first positions has reached 12, and this is one of the positives of the first round."

• 268 goals were scored in the 91 first round matches, with a rate of 2.98 goals per game.

• The first round witnessed many stops, most notably during the World Cup (Qatar 2022).

To view the aspects that characterized the first round organizationally and indicators of weakness technically,

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