AGL round-up: Al Wahda coach decided against having Tim Cahill, and more

A quick look at the UAE clubs as action resumes after the winter break and the AFC Asian Cup.

Jose Peseiro, the Al Wahda coach, is believed to have ruled against having Tim Cahill. Ravindranath K / The National

Al Wahda

Tim Cahill has joined Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua after Al Wahda decided not to pursue the Australian. Wahda had been linked with a move for Cahill, 35, last month, but Ahmed Al Rumaithi, chairman of Wahda, said coach Jose Peseiro, above, had not wanted the attacking midfielder. “We had initial talks with the player’s agent but it got delayed” as Australia won the Asian Cup. “Now that deal is off,” Al Rumaithi said. “We also discussed the matter with our coach but he wanted to continue with the same foreign combination.”

Al Ain

Zlatko Dalic, the Al Ain coach, said his new Emirati signing, Saeed Al Kathiri, can play a key role in the absence of their leading scorer, Asamoah Gyan, who is leading Ghana in the African Cup of Nations. “Provided with the opportunity I think Saeed can play a big role for our team,” Dalic said of the Al Wasl player ahead of their home clash against Al Shabab tonight. “I can also confirm all four foreign players will remain at the club until the end of the season. So we have good stability and are looking forward to get the second half off on a winning note.”

Al Shabab

Coach Caio Junior is happy his defenders will not be facing Gyan when they travel to Al Ain. “Gyan is the best striker in the league and I am glad he will not be playing against us,” said Junior, who will be travelling without the suspended duo of striker Henrique Luvannor and midfielder Hassan Ibrahim. He said his side “need to win our first three matches of the second round – against Al Ain, Al Ahli and Al Nasr – and I feel we are ready for it”.

Kalba

Coach Abdelhak Benchikha hopes former Wahda forward Papa Waigo and Moroccan midfielder Fatah Said can help the league’s bottom side avoid relegation. “We have spent the break working to restore the morale of the team and we hope we have been successful,” Benchikha said.

Al Dhafra

Al Dhafra’s Brazilian signing Diego Felipe Coutinho is set for his Arabian Gulf League debut when the Western region club of Abu Dhabi meet Al Wasl at home today. The midfielder, 26, is the new attacking partner of Makhete Diop, the Senegalese striker and captain.

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