As beginnings to life at a new job go, it was less than ideal.
Adnan Hamad had just 48 hours to prepare Baniyas for their Asian Champions League play-off against Al Qadsia of Kuwait earlier this month after he had replaced the fired Jorge da Silva.
Hamad put a brave face on in his first public appearance in the position and said: “I can’t work wonders in a short period of time but will do my best to motivate the players for a good result in my first game in charge.”
Unfortunately that did not happen for Hamad as the result was a 4-0 thrashing by the visitors and a losing start to his tenure at the club.
It was followed by a 2-0 home loss to Al Nasr and another 4-1 hammering from Al Ahli in successive weeks in the Arabian Gulf League to continue their struggles.
Mohammed Ibrahim, the Qadsia coach, even as an outsider, revealed the problems at Baniyas.
“The main problem is that they have changed too many coaches in the last 10 years,” he said.
“They are a bigger team than us because of their budget, their stadium, and they play professional football, but they simply don’t seem to have long-term policies to fully implement the strategies and objectives of the coach they hire.”
The coaching carousel is common in the Gulf region but the timing of some of Baniyas’s recent moves are nothing short of mind-boggling and often acted upon either to the mandate of the players or to please the fans.
Baniyas have had eight coaching changes since their return to the top flight in 2008/2009, resulting in a serious lack of long-term objectives and preparation.
Lotfi Benzarti, who spent more than a full season at Baniyas after leading them to the top flight, was one of the longest-serving coaches at the club in recent times.
The Tunisian led them to a creditable fourth place on their return to the Arabian Gulf League, the Pro League at that time.
The team was second in the table when he was fired on April 2011. Baniyas have seen seven different coaches since then, including Salem Al Orafi, the Emirati assistant coach, who has been temporarily put in charge twice in that period.
Gabriel Calderon led them to the President’s Cup final and to the last-16 round in the Asian Champions League in 2012, but the Argentine had to part ways with the club because of a lack of cooperation from the players.
Unfortunately, running through more coaches than players seems to be the norm among the clubs.
The other massive stumbling-block arrives in the form of trying to satisfy the capricious demands of their fans.
Thus, the cycle continues, with a steady parade of coaches with vastly different styles running the gamut of scrutinising football fans and club managements.
Hamad will hope to get the time he feels he needs to turn things around but, given his club’s recent examples of patience, he cannot be confident of receiving it.
apassela@thenational.ae
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