DUBAI // Al Ahli believe they have assembled the finest foreign contingent in the club’s history, as they attempt to regain their position as the top team in UAE football.
The Dubai side have added to their expatriate roster again this summer, recruiting Brazilian striker Rodrigo Lima from Benfica and Senegalese international Moussa Sow from Fenerbahce.
Sow, a league winner in France and Turkey, signed last week for a €16 million (Dh65.5m) transfer fee, making him one of the Arabian Gulf League’s most expensive imports. He made his debut on Monday in the Arabian Gulf Cup draw with Al Shaab.
Lima, meanwhile, scored 70 goals in 144 league appearances for Benfica to twice help the club clinch the Portuguese Primeira Liga. He has already struck five times in four matches for Ahli.
The pair complete Ahli’s foreign quota for the 2015/16 campaign alongside Everton Ribeiro and Kwon Kyung-won, who both joined in the winter transfer window.
Ribeiro’s acquisition was viewed as a major coup, since his reputation in Brazil had reportedly attracted interest from various prominent European clubs, such as Manchester United and AC Milan. The playmaker was called up to the Brazilian national team for this summer’s Copa America.
Kwon, the South Korean midfielder, has also excelled since arriving from Jeonbuk Hyundai.
Ahmed Khalifa, Ahli’s chief executive, says the club’s recent transfer dealings have provided coach Cosmin Olaroiu with the best foreign ensemble not just in the league, but in the club’s lifetime.
“Never in the history of Al Ahli have we had this level of player, all at the same time,” Khalifa said. “We always had just one or two. But now we have Ribeiro, a Brazil national team player, Moussa Sow, a Senegal national team player, while Lima is a very big player also, who’s played in big teams and transferred from Benfica where he was top scorer and won the Portuguese league.
“Of course, this is something good and we believe it’ll increase the technical level of the team. We recognise we have to develop the team all the time and so every time we had to sign good players. We will not stop at that, whether that is the local market or the international market.
“This is part of our strategy to maintain the team, to develop the team and recruit players who can add value, players who can push the team to trophies.”
Khalifa said the 2013/14 Arabian Gulf League champions could still add to their local roster before the transfer window closes on September 21. He also confirmed the club have received offers from other Arabian Gulf League teams for Ciel and Oussama Assaidi, although as of yet no deal has been completed.
Should he not find a new employer, Assaidi could feature in Ahli’s 2014 Asian Champions League campaign, since Sow was not signed in time to be registered. Assaidi is available, though, and featured in last month’s 1-0 victory in the first leg of the quarter-final against Naft Tehran. The return match takes place at the Rashid Stadium next Wednesday.
Asked why Sow’s acquisition was not secured before the competition’s July 25 deadline, Khalifa said: “The negotiations had taken a lot of time. It was not easy for a club like Fenerbahce to release one of its best players.
“We saw in the Turkish media how much they loved him, how much the team depended on him and how much he wanted to respect his team. We tried for at least one year, but it was not easy to finish the deal. He was a key player for his team.”
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