Wahda back to challenge

Their pride battered in one of their worst seasons, Al Wahda are on mission to restore the respect of a team that won the league three times in the last decade.

Ismail Matar, right (turning), remains the most influential player for Al Wahda and will lead the attack, especially in the absence of Josiel da Rocha.

Their pride battered in one of their worst seasons, Al Wahda are on mission to restore the respect of a team that won the league three times and had the runner-up status three times in the last decade. They struggled to avoid relegation in the league last season and only a late flourish saw them finish with a respectable 30 points to finish eight in the Etisalat League. It was a traumatic season for them in which they fired the Brazilian coach Ivo Wortmann with whom they began on high hopes and then sacked his replacement Dutchman Jo Bonfrere.

Ahmed Abdulhaleem, who came in as caretaker, has been given the job to continue as head coach in the Pro League. The former Egypt international saw them through the troubled period by winning the last five games in the league and took them to the Asian Champions League semi-final. "Having worked with the players from the middle of last season I have got to know them better," said Abdulhaleem. "It is a new start and takes time for any team to get the right combination.

"I am fortunate to work with a strong team and with a very proud record. They were just not lucky enough to win matches early last season and that in turn put the pressure on the players. "The good thing is they finished strongly and now it is a matter of taking that confidence forward. I am very fortunate to be in charge of such a talented side where half the line-up is members of the current national team."

Wahda has retained the Brazilians Pinga and Alecsandro Barbosa, and roped in the Moroccan international Mourad Ainy to strengthen the defence. Josiel da Rocha, one of the big signings of last season, has been loaned to his native Brazilian club Flamingoes for one year. They also have a couple of under-23 players, Tunisian Karim Aouadhi and Abdulla al Dhakeel from Bahrain as backups for the main foreign trio.

Pinga was impressive last season, and it was no surprise he has be retained ahead of Josiel. Alecsandro played in the last four games after missing much of last season because of an injury. Ismail Matar remains their most influential player and will spearhead the attack with his national teammate Mohammed al Shehhi, whose outstanding performance last season earned him the UAE Player of the Year award.

They are joined by other national team members - Abdulraheem Jumaa, Haider Ali and Abdulla Noobi - on the midfield, and Fahad Masoud returns as right wing attack after a season with Qatar Club - the first UAE player to play as a pro abroad. Basheer Saeed will be joined by Ainy in defence, the Moroccan fills the void left by the veteran Abdulla Salem, who retired following injury. Abdulla Rabea remains the first choice goalkeeper with the recent purchase of Ali al Amir from Al Wasl.

Abdulhaleem saw no weaknesses in the defence. He added, "The defence was good and now it is better with Ainy, who plays as the libero. We also have a lot of options with a strong bench." Wahda's record in the past decade has been impressive with three league titles, a President's Cup and Super Cup, besides reaching the semi-finals and the last eight in the Asian Champions League in 2007 and 2004 respectively. They were also runner up three times and finished third and fourth in the 10 years.

Abdulla al Junaibi, the chairman of the club's executive committee, believes it was natural that any leading side has a slump after 10 years. "But we were not bad as it so often happens with all the leading clubs," said Junaibi. "Most good teams take about 2 to 3 years to recover but we recovered towards the end of the season with five consecutive wins and reached the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League.

"We are looking forward to carry on from where we left. I feel we have a strong squad and the chemistry of this team remains good. With the new competition and the challenge league in place, we can put the reserves to good use." The challenge league is played with the reserves in the following day of the Pro League on the same order of the Pro League fixtures. [e-mail]