Dubai club are bottom of the Arabian Gulf League table, with nine points from 19 matches. They are six points back of third-from-bottom Ajman and relegation safety. Delores Johnson / The National
Dubai club are bottom of the Arabian Gulf League table, with nine points from 19 matches. They are six points back of third-from-bottom Ajman and relegation safety. Delores Johnson / The National
Dubai club are bottom of the Arabian Gulf League table, with nine points from 19 matches. They are six points back of third-from-bottom Ajman and relegation safety. Delores Johnson / The National
Dubai club are bottom of the Arabian Gulf League table, with nine points from 19 matches. They are six points back of third-from-bottom Ajman and relegation safety. Delores Johnson / The National

Junior dos Santos confident he can turn around Dubai club


John McAuley
  • English
  • Arabic

DUBAI // Dubai club's new coach, Junior dos Santos, is confident he can retain their Arabian Gulf League status after he replaced Umberto Barberis earlier this week.

The Brazilian, who managed the club for eight months during the 2010/11 season, has been parachuted into the division’s bottom side to save their season with seven matches remaining.

Dubai are currently the top tier's worst team in points gathered, as they sit rooted to the basement having registered two victories from 19 league rounds. At present, they are six points from safety, with Al Shaab and Ajman the two clubs directly above them.

Barberis had been identified in November as the man to guide Dubai from the relegation zone, yet he struggled to make an impact and departed the Dubai Sports and Cultural Club Stadium having overseen two wins in 16 games across all competitions.

He is succeeded by Dos Santos, who said he plans to use the current break in the league programme to lift the spirit of a demoralised squad. Dubai’s next match is away to Al Wasl on March 22, before they face a crucial run that includes must-win clashes against Ajman and Al Shaab.

“I have great confidence in the players for the next phase, in order to achieve victories in the remaining matches and stay Arabian Gulf League,” Dos Santos said. “My job is to restore the players’ confidence, and work to achieve victories and win points during the next five games, and then raise morale and increase enthusiasm that we will achieve our goal to remain the competition.”

Dos Santos insists his previous time at the club should serve him well, as he already knows many of the players now at his disposal. He also backed Dubai’s foreign contingent – Salaheddine Saidi, Mustafa Conde, Gilles Yapi Yapo and Jehad Fadel Alhussien – to contribute significantly to the survival push.

“I cannot judge them or haven’t been able to assess them during the current period, so I must give them the opportunity to prove themselves,” he said. “Then we can judge them. The important thing for me now is that they have the ability to give more effort to the team.

“When I bet on the ability of my players to overcome this current obstacle, it stems from confidence in their abilities and potential.”

Dubai will hope Dos Santos has a similar impact to the one he had in the 2010/11 campaign, when he replaced Egyptian Ayman al Hamadi to take the reins of a side who had lost seven of their opening eight league matches.

However, under Dos Santos Dubai then managed to record seven victories from the following 14 games to remain in the top flight. He is therefore convinced he can again help the club stave off the drop.

“It’s a challenge for myself, but I have a lot of ideas to pull the team from its current status, and now I’m at the club I take responsibility,” he said. “I do not fear anyone because I have skillful players and I have the ability to use their capabilities to achieve positive results during their upcoming games.”

Dos Santos’s arrival marks the 10th managerial change in the Arabian Gulf League this season, and comes in the same week Wasl parted company with Hector Cuper, their Argentine coach.

jmcauley@thenational.ae

Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.

• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Sheer grandeur

The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.

A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.

UAE%20set%20for%20Scotland%20series
%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20will%20host%20Scotland%20for%20a%20three-match%20T20I%20series%20at%20the%20Dubai%20International%20Stadium%20next%20month.%3Cbr%3EThe%20two%20sides%20will%20start%20their%20Cricket%20World%20Cup%20League%202%20campaigns%20with%20a%20tri-series%20also%20involving%20Canada%2C%20starting%20on%20January%2029.%3Cbr%3EThat%20series%20will%20be%20followed%20by%20a%20bilateral%20T20%20series%20on%20March%2011%2C%2013%20and%2014.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST

Premier League

Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm 

Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm  

Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm 

Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm 

Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)

Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm 

Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm

Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm

Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm 

Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm

Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm 

Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm

Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm

 

GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

Empty Words

By Mario Levrero  

(Coffee House Press)
 

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5