There used to be a time, not so long ago, when few Emirati clubs fancied a trip to Iran as it usually meant an enervating experience.
Al Ahli, however, seem to be relishing it of late. Last year, they managed to return home with a 2-1 win from Sepahan, which was their only win in six group matches of the 2014 Asian Champions League.
This year, they suffered a 1-0 defeat at Tractor Sazi during their group campaign of the continental championships. Ahli were a team in transition back then, though, travelling to Iran with Ahmed Khalil as their lone striker.
On Wednesday night, their ranks also included Rodrigo Lima — a highly-regarded striker who has won back-to-back Portuguese league titles with Benfica during the past two seasons. The top scorer in the Portuguese top division in 2011/12, he also owns three Europa League runners-up medals — two with Benfica and one with Braga.
Lima comes to the UAE with plenty of pedigree, but it seems the Naft Tehran defenders were totally unaware of his abilities. They left him completely unmarked to score the only goal of the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Azadi Stadium last night. Left unattended, Lima sneaked in to meet a curled Everton Ribeiro corner in the 62nd minute when a deflection looked like it would take the ball away from him.
The 32-year-old Brazilian, however, dived to his left and made sure he connected.
A nation, or perhaps two, must have held their breath for those milliseconds as the ball flew through the air towards the goal. And then, the stadium was stunned into deathly silence, while the virtual world of UAE football was brought to life with congratulatory messages on Twitter.
There were a few morose tweets from Iranians as well, stating how Naft had lost to Ahli as “expected”. Nobody would have dared to use such words until a few years ago, but these are different times.
With its “golden generation” flying the flag at the international level, Emirati football is on the upswing. The Iranians, on the other hand, seem headed in the other direction.
Naft Tehran seem to be headed that way, at least. Having finished third in the Iranian Pro League in the past two seasons, they are in the midst of a terrible start. They are 13th in the table and still searching for their first win after four rounds of play.
Ahli, on the other hand, started their Arabian Gulf League campaign with an 8-1 win over Fujairah, and the effects of that win were visible at the Azadi Stadium yesterday. The visitors never really showed any nerves.
They could have shown better finishing, though. Ismail Al Hammadi, who was the hat-trick hero of Ahli’s win over Fujairah last Wednesday, was running all over the park last night, but he missed two great opportunities in the first half, blasting the ball high over the target.
Lima, too, could have put Ahli ahead during first-half added time, but he failed to put away Ribeiro’s inch-perfect cross following a counter-attack.
Thankfully, he came back to make amends in the second half, but the job is only half done.
Ahli and the UAE fans will be hoping for more of the same from Lima and his teammates in the second leg at the Rashid Stadium three weeks from now.
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