Pro League: Continuity with coaches will breed success

Short reigns for managers are a occupational hazard but those with moderate initial success, such as Sanchez Flores and Zenga, deserve better, says Ahmed Rizvi.

Quique Sanchez Flores, the Al Ahli coach, has boosted his credentials by taking his team into the Asian Champions League. Pawan Singh / The National

Will he stay or will he go? Quique Sanchez Flores was asked that question again, for the umpteenth time in the past month, as the Spaniard celebrated Al Ahli's President's Cup triumph at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.

And his answer was the same: "I have not made a decision yet."

Sanchez Flores then returned to his elated players and staff, hugging each of them warmly. At that time, the question of his future seemed at distant as it ever has been.

The former Valencia and Real Madrid right-back was just soaking in the atmosphere, and at one moment, he seemed close to tears. "We are in the same situation as last year," Sanchez Flores said at the news conference later.

"The season is finished, the contract is finished. We will repeat same process as last year, take time to think about things."

Like last year, Sanchez Flores, who took over the reins of the Ahli team in November 2011, after Ivan Hasek was shown the door, will return home to Spain to attend to "family matters". He will be back in 10 days or two weeks to start talks about a possible extension.

The Ahli chairman, Abdullah Al Naboodah, believes winning the President's Cup has raised the possibility of Sanchez Flores renewing his contract and that should be good news, not just for the fans of Ahli but the league itself.

Ahli were the only team who looked at the same level as league champions Al Ain.

Cosmin Olaroiu has already committed himself to the Al Ain job and the prospects of challenging the champions yet again, and possibly overshadowing them, might just tempt Sanchez Flores to give himself another year at Ahli.

The possibility of playing in Asia might be a big carrot as well; after the President's Cup win, Sanchez Flores did talk about how important that was for the team.

Tuesday's triumph has almost assured Ahli of a return to the Asian Champions League, even if UAE's representation in the continental championships is reduced to two direct entries. (The country had three direct entries this year, and a fourth place in the play-offs).

Sanchez Flores has already won two continental championships as Atletico Madrid manager - the 2009/10 Europa League and the 2010 Uefa Super Cup - and adding the Asian title to that might be a strong incentive to stay.

In the past two months, the Spaniard has, on more than one occasion, said he and the club will make a decision that is best for both parties.

And nothing could be better for Ahli than him staying back to continue his good work at the Rashid Stadium. It is not a coincidence that all three domestic trophies this season have been won by coaches in their second season here - Olaroiu (league), Sanchez Flores (President's Cup) and Abdulwahab Abdulqadir (Etisalat Cup, with Ajman).

Their success underlines the need for stability, which seems a rarity at the clubs here. These three coaches are among the six who kept their job throughout the 2012/13 season; Dubai's Rene Marsiglia, Shabab's Marcos Paqueta and Al Nasr's Walter Zenga are the others.

Four of them have already confirmed their decision to continue, leaving only Sanchez Flores and Zenga's continuity in doubt.

Marius Sumudica will also keep his job at Al Shaab and that is good news, for the Romanian brings a lot of colour and character to the dugout.

Zenga does that as well and it would be unfortunate if the Italian part ways with Nasr.

The club's fans, on a poll conducted on Twitter, have voted overwhelmingly in favour of keeping the Italy goalkeeping legend. He got 75 per cent of the votes, but the management seems reluctant.

After finishing second and third in the previous two seasons, Nasr slipped to sixth this time and the media has not been very kind to the coach; he has not made many friends among journalists.

Zenga has a year left on his contract and the penalty clause is, according to reports, one of the reasons why the Nasr officials have not made a decision yet.

But the Italian, like Sanchez Flores, has done a lot of good, especially in his work with the youngsters, and deserves to continue.

You cannot finish second and third in a league by chance, as Zenga has done, with a mid-table team.

So the Nasr management, like Shabab, need to back the Italian to the hilt. Even Jose Mourinho cannot win league titles if the management do not show complete faith in the coach.

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