DUBAI // Cosmin Olaroiu, the Al Ahli coach, has given a vote of confidence to his foreign players, saying he has no plans to bring any new stars to the Sheikh Rashid Stadium.
Earlier this week, reports in the Italian media claimed Ahli made an audacious bid to bring Robinho to Dubai from Milan, offering a lucrative annual salary of €4.5 million (Dh22.1m). Reports in Brazil also linked Ahli with a move for the Chilean star Jorge Valdivia.
Robinho, however, opted for a return to his former club Santos instead, on a one-year loan deal, while Valdivia’s future remains unclear. That is not a problem for Olaroiu.
“I have a lot of respect for the players who have been linked recently with a move to Ahli, but these players are not part of our plans at the moment or our plans for the future,” Olaroiu told the club website.
“If we did think about bringing a new foreign player, it would be a player we believe will fight for the team, take responsibility on the pitch and show a lot of determination in upholding the honour of the club. It is not in our interest to bring players on the basis of their names or their stardom.”
The status of Chilean Luis Jimenez and Brazil’s Ciel has been the subject of much speculation this summer, but Olaroiu insisted he had no plans to dispense with them.
“These players have already proven their commitment to the team through a really difficult last season and helped the club win three trophies,” said the Romanian, who is in Italy with his squad for a pre-season training camp.
“What I am seeing now on the training ground is a bunch of players with the same enthusiasm and determination as they showed last season.”
However, with the arrival of Romanian midfielder Mirel Radoi earlier in the summer, Olaroiu will have to allow one of his foreign players – Grafite and Hugo Viana being the others – to leave the club.
“We have not made a decision about that yet,” Olaroiu said. “All the players will get an equal opportunity during this current camp, and my priority will be players who helped the team in providing an excellent season and brought trophies to the club.
“If we feel the need to make changes, we will do so, but we will not bring in players to satisfy the public or the media. The team’s interest will be the only consideration.”
Elsewhere, Al Shabab confirmed the arrival of Brazil-born Moldovan international Henrique Luvannor on a four-year deal from Sheriff Tiraspol, and Al Nasr announced a two-year deal with Sampdoria's Brazilian midfielder Renan.
“We have managed to sign Luvannor after negotiations that spanned more than a month,” said Mohammed Al Marri, Shabab’s executive director. “The negotiations were complicated, since his club did not want him to leave, as he had contributed significantly to their winning the league title and he was the league’s top scorer.
“But we kept negotiating and eventually managed to convince the player and his club.”
The Ras Al Khaimah club Emirates added Moroccan striker Youssef Kaddioui. The club now have five foreign players on their books – Kaddioui and his compatriot Issam Erraki, Brazilian Luiz Henrique, Argentine German Herrera and Rodrigo of East Timor – and coach Paulo Comelli will make a decision on his final four after returning from their pre-season camp in Germany at the end of the month.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at @SprtNationalUAE