Cosmin Olaroiu really does not need to audition for the job of UAE coach. The Romanian can just point to the steady stream of trophies he has won across Asia, including 14 with three different teams in the UAE alone.
But if a reminder was required as to just what the 55-year-old coach can offer as the next man in for the national team, his Sharjah side provided it in stunning fashion late on Tuesday night.
They were 1-0 down on aggregate deep into injury time at the end of the second leg of their AFC Champions League Two semi-final against Saudi side Al Taawoun.
Still, they would not let up. In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Ousmane Camara, who had a bandaged head and had not stopped running all night, bundled in an equaliser.
The packed stands at Sharjah Sports Club were ecstatic that they had 30 more minutes in which to try to find a way through to another final.
They didn’t need it. In the ninth minute of the 10 that were to be added at the end of the game, substitute Firas Ben Larbi lashed in the winning goal.
It means Sharjah will face the winners of Wednesday’s second semi-final, between Sydney FC and Lion City Sailors, in the final of the continental tournament.
That is in addition to the President’s Cup final, in which they will face Shabab Al Ahli. And they are not yet out of the UAE Pro League title race, either.
All of which is Olaroiu’s magic at work. It is little wonder he is said to be the next UAE coach in waiting. It is understood he is set to fill the role left vacant since Paulo Bento was dismissed at the end of last month.
Ahead of the first leg against Taawoun, Olaroiu said that nothing had yet been finalised with the national team. He is reportedly set to be given the chance to finish what he has started with Sharjah before making the switch at the end of the season.
If that does come to pass, the window with which he will have to ready the national team for two vital World Cup qualifiers – against Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in June – will only be brief.
And yet if anyone can motivate the players to believe they can turn around the four-point deficit to the Uzbeks, and claim one of the two automatic qualifying berths for the World Cup, it is surely Olaroiu.
The never-say-die attitude of the Sharjah players in the stunning late turnaround against Taawoun was evidence enough. It is a trait of all Olaroiu’s teams.
“You have to achieve these things over time,” Olaroiu said. “The players have to believe. They have to believe in the work they have done, and have the motivation.
“I was talking to the coach from Taawoun [Mohammed Al Abdali] before the game, and he said he tried to motivate them. I said, ‘Look, it is very difficult to motivate someone. The words that we tell them are an activation not a motivation'.
“The motivation comes from inside them, and shows itself in the times that you need it. These guys [the Sharjah players], they have it.
“Always, we try to make them understand the power they have inside them to go over any obstacle in life. It is not just about football; it is about everything in life.
“Life is a challenge, and a football game is always a challenge. If you don’t believe [in yourself] you are better off not coming.”
Caio Lucas, the Sharjah and UAE forward, said the players all respect Olaroiu because of what he has achieved in the game.
“Speaking about the coach is very simple,” Lucas said. “He played football, and he knows so much about football.
“He is a really good guy who knows how to speak to players. He knows how to treat the players, and we respect him a lot because we know he has won everything.
“In terms of this game, we worked so hard. Now we have to enjoy this, rest, and work hard before the final.”
While the late comeback win thrilled Sharjah fans, there were also supporters spotted in the stands wearing Al Wasl and Al Ain shirts.
Olaroiu said he hopes his side’s presence in the final – at a venue yet to be disclosed – will make the whole country proud.
“The players are very happy to be in the final, the supporters are happy, and I hope all fans of UAE football are proud of this team and these players,” Olaroiu said.
“The most important having arrived here is we have to go till the end. We have been in eight finals in three and a half years, and we have to go ahead and try to win this trophy, and now we have the chance to do it.”
