DUBAI // Gabriel Calderon arrived at his introductory briefing with Al Wasl, where he was unveiled as the club’s 10th coach in two-and-a-half years and immediately seemed surprised by the sparse turnout.
“Only these people?” he said as he scanned the room.
Perhaps it was the hour, since 5pm on a Thursday is not an ideal time to navigate the traffic around Zabeel Stadium. Or maybe it was just that new coaches at Wasl are old hat.
Either way, he obviously felt compelled to justify his latest role, which began officially on Wednesday after the club parted company with Jorginho a day earlier. The Brazilian lasted little more than four months.
Calderon appeared unperturbed by his predecessor’s swift demise, though.
Unlike Jorginho, the Argentine manager has coached in this region for the best part of a decade, save for six months earlier this year in Spain with Real Betis.
Those spells in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain, not to mention in the UAE with Baniyas, have provided him a certain self-assurance. He put forward a pretty compelling argument, too.
“I have confidence in my job, every time,” said Calderon, 54, in competent English. “Because of this, I accept that I don’t need to take two or three years, because in one month, you will know the work of Calderon.
“After 10 years in the area, all the people know. So I have confidence in my job, confidence in knowing the mentality and the level of the Arabic players, that normally when they work with Calderon, they have good results. In the long run, I’m sure there will be very, very good results.”
History suggests he will have his work cut out. Wasl have endured a difficult time this season, winning once in six matches, and sit 10th in the Arabian Gulf League.
Under Jorginho, they looked slow and sluggish, although any side trying to come to terms with such a summer of upheaval would take a while to find their feet.
Since June, Wasl have recruited 14 players, including a complete overhaul of their foreign roster. It was little wonder, then, that even Calderon accepted that he required that all-too-precious commodity: patience.
“Of course, the coach needs time to work, but with a new coach, sometimes the spirit and mentality of the players changes, and because they already have quality, these together makes it possible to achieve good results,” he said.
“I have been very happy with the players – their spirit and their hard work – in training.
“But the team will not look 100 per cent like a Calderon team in two matches. I explain this because it is the reality, but it is no excuse for after the Wahda match. I’ve been working a lot with the team these three days to arrive in the best condition to get a good result.”
Wahda, the league leaders, represent Calderon’s immediate objective, while he was reluctant to set targets for the season.
Expectations from Wasl regarding their new manager are equally unclear, although Calderon insists he will have the full support of the club board.
Because of that, he did not need an overt show of faith – Wasl signed him for one year – since he feels the club want success just as quickly as he does.
“I know very well the history of Al Wasl in last three or four years,” he said. “But I’m looking only for the chairman, the managers and the people at Al Wasl to have confidence in me and confidence in my job. I thank them for this.
“And because they have 100 per cent confidence in me, my job now is to return that confidence. It starts with the good team and the good results.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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