DUBAI // Oussama Assaidi, Al Ahli’s new signing, has criticised Liverpool for not giving him the opportunity to prove his worth.
The Moroccan winger, 26, joined the UAE champions on a three-and-a-half year deal from the English Premier League club last week, in a transfer reportedly valued at £4.7 million (Dh26m).
Assaidi endured a disappointing 28 months on Liverpool’s books, making only 12 appearances following his switch from Heerenveen, the Dutch side, in August 2012. Last season, he was loaned to Stoke City. The deal was extended again in August, and was originally expected to run until the conclusion of the 2014/15 campaign.
“To be honest, I never got a fair chance at Liverpool,” Assaidi said at Rashid Stadium on Monday, when he was introduced as an Ahli player. “If you look at the games I played I don’t think I did that bad.
“Liverpool are a big club that try to buy and buy and buy, but they don’t always buy the right players. They look to big names, but big names aren’t always what you should look for because smaller names are sometimes better.
“But they buy big names for big money and then they have to play them. That’s how it works in Europe: you have to be a little lucky. I came from a small club in Holland and I took a big step to go to Liverpool because they said I was a good player and that I would get a chance, but I didn’t get that chance. Maybe I made the wrong decision to go to Liverpool early.”
Assaidi was provided a more involved role at Stoke, where he featured in 28 Premier League matches across the 2013/14 season and this term, scoring four goals. His most noteworthy strike came in December 2013, when he scored the winner in the 3-2 victory against Chelsea at the Britannia Stadium.
Assaidi’s final appearance for Mark Hughes’s side was the 3-1 win against Wrexham in the FA Cup third round on January 4. Unable to hold down a first-team place, Assaidi said he had wanted to join Ahli since last summer.
“At Stoke I thought I was one of the better players, and I did well in the first season, but this year I didn’t play so much,” he said. “At first, Stoke didn’t want to let me go, but I did everything I could for them to let me come here.
“I was disappointed after they didn’t let me leave in the summer, but the second time they said ‘OK’ and now I’m very happy to be here.”
Assaidi takes the space in Ahli’s squad vacated by Mirel Radoi, the Romanian who was released last month following a frustrating time with the Dubai club. On the pitch, he will be used to fill the void left by Ciel, since the Brazilian forward is not expected to play any part this season after breaking his ankle against Sharjah in September.
Ahli have struggled in his absence – they currently sit sixth in the Arabian Gulf League, seven points behind leaders Al Ain and Al Jazira.
“Al Ahli have shown big confidence in me; that’s what I need and that’s what I didn’t get in England,” Assaidi said. “I don’t want to look back now because there’s nothing you can do about it. I want to look forward.
“This is 100 per cent the right decision for me and my family. I will try to give everything to this club. I hope, with me, the whole team will do well and be OK in the league.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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