Senegalese international Moussa Sow spoke to John McAuley about the challenges of adjusting to the heat in the UAE and his first impressions of his Al Ahli teammates.
Key quartet
The 29-year-old forward signed from Fenerbahce for a reported €16 million (Dh66.3m) to complete Ahli’s foreign contingent, with Brazilians Rodrigo Lima and Everton Ribeiro and South Korean Kwon Kyung-won the other three. Ahmed Khalifa, Ahli’s chief executive, said earlier this week of the four: “Never in the history of Al Ahli have we had this level of player, all at the same time.”
Hot times
Sow played all 90 minutes of Ahli’s 1-1 Arabian Gulf Cup match on Monday at Al Shaab, and he said getting used to the warm temperatures was the main thing he was working on. “I’ve already played in the cup and am ready for the next match. My problem now is the temperature. It’s too hot, but I’m trying to acclimatise. Maybe I’ll be improving slowly, because of the weather. My colleague Lima had the same problems. It will not be easy, but with time I’ll get better.”
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First impressions
Of what he makes of the Ahli squad and his new teammates, he said: “I’ve been very, very impressed. The club has quality, the management has quality and the coach is, too. They have a lot of big players here and I’m very happy.”
Focused
On being expected to play a key part in pushing Cosmin Olaroiu’s side to a title challenge, Sow said he looked forward to following in the footsteps of past foreign players at the club such as Brazilian Grafite, who left for Qatari club Al Sadd in February, and Chilean Luis Jimenez, who joined Al Nasr in the summer. “I know there have been big players in Al Ahli before, but I’m thinking about myself and my career here,” he said. “I want to achieve a good result, to win trophies and become champions.”
Crowds
While acknowledging he was surprised by the low number of fans at Shaab on Monday, Sow said he was already forming a bond with Ahli supporters. “When I played in the cup, I was shocked because there were only 2,000 or 3,000 fans in the stadium,” he said. “In Fenerbahce, we had 40,000 or 50,000. I already have support from fans here — it’s a pleasure for me.”
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