Al Ahli spirit praised after title

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Chairman al naboodah says they are lucky to receive the support of shaikh hamdan

al ahli chairman abdullah al naboodah said they are lucky to receive the support of the shaikh hamdan bin mohammed bin rashid al maktoum crown prince of dubai and chairman of the dubai executive council and president of al ahli cultural and sports club.

speaking to the players while celebrating the treble success of the senior football team with the players following their tough fought out 2-1 victory over al jazira in the final of the arabian gulf cup at hazza bin zayed stadium in al ain on saturday al naboodah admitted that they are equally lucky to have a great caliber coach in the form of cosmin olariou.

“we are over the moon being the first uae club to be crowned at this state-of-the-art venue and make history by making it perfect three after adding the arabian gulf cup to the super cup and the arabian gulf league shield. it was a special night thanks to all the players who did nothing wrong and the faithful fans without whom nothing would have been achieved” he concluded.

and while cosmin opted to keep quiet he deputed his assistant cataline to convey the message on his behalf. “i would like to congratulate the players for the big effort and strong fighting spirit particularly in the second period of the tough clash. it’s the character and spirit of the champions that has made all the difference” he said.

“we have been faced with a very strong opposition and it’s a great achievement because our players refused to bend and battled back to make their fans happy. we have spoken to the players during the interval and reminded them that they are the champions and should never bend to the wind and this was the password which gave them access to the third title of the season” he added.

“this was similar to our league’s clash against al wasl when the players bounced back and reversed the early deficit into 2-1 victory to win the league three weeks before the end of the competition.

“and although the players have been in action against strong teams we are confident that they will continue to perform with the same spirit against qatar’s al sadd in the afc champions league on tuesday in doha to advance to the knockout stage of the competition. it’s our belief that success brings about success and there’s nothing to worry about” he said.

“but unfortunately our brilliant playmaker luiz jimenez will miss out. we will wait for his medical report to decide what should be done on his case” he concluded.

yousuf yaqoub al serkal president of the uaefa congratulated the management of al ahli cultural and sports club for the well-deserved success which has been achieved by the senior football team.

“i would like to congratulate his highness shaikh mohammed bin rashid al maktoum vice-president and prime minister of the uae and ruler of dubai and shaikh hamdan bin mohammed al maktoum and shaikh maktoum bin mohammad bin rashid al maktoum deputy ruler of dubai and vice-president of the club” he said.