Sharjah turns the page on the season’s competition after bidding farewell to “Asia Elite”

Sharjah missed a valuable opportunity to reach the second round of the AFC Champions League for the elite, after it lost on its home field and among its fans to Nasaf of Uzbekistan, 1-2, in the eighth and final round of the group stage, so that its score froze at eight points, and fell to ninth place in the general ranking table, moving away from the circle of the top eight places qualifying for the next round, and wasting a golden opportunity that would have been enough to keep it in the heart of the competition.

Consequently, the Sharjah team, which won the Asian Championship 2 last season, closed its last competition card this season, after being eliminated from the local tournaments, and falling significantly in the league standings to ninth place as well.

Sharjah’s loss to the bottom of the group was due to defensive errors and failure to invest in offensive opportunities, so the team found itself practically out of the qualification race, and the three Emirati clubs participating in the Asian Elite Championship finished the group stage with two teams qualifying, after Shabab Al-Ahly and Al-Wahda succeeded in advancing to the next round.

Shabab Al-Ahly and competitors’ results

The results of the competitors contributed to relieving the pressure on Shabab Al-Ahly, despite its loss to Al-Ahly Saudi Arabia with a score of 3-4, as it benefited from Al-Gharafa’s defeat to Al-Ittihad with a clean score, in addition to the loss of Al-Sharjah, to ensure its official qualification to the second round thanks to the results of the competitors, without the need to enter into complex calculations.

As for Al-Wahda, it was the exception among the Emirati clubs, after it had clinched its qualification since the fifth round. However, its loss to the Saudi Al-Hilal 1-2 may affect its position in the rankings, as it currently occupies fourth place with 14 points, before taking into account the result of the Jeddah Union confrontation with Al-Sadd.

Thus, the three clubs exited the eighth round without achieving any points, in a scene that was repeated for the second time in the group stage, after the sixth round in which no victory was achieved either.

The reason for leaving Sharjah

For his part, technical analyst, Khaled Obaid, attributed the reason for Sharjah’s exit from the group stage of the AFC Champions League for the Elite to what he described as a state of “technical and administrative instability” that the team experienced during its continental career.

Obaid told Emirates Al-Youm that Sharjah paid the price for these disturbances, as the team suffered during the leadership of Serbian coach Milos Milojevic, a suffering that was not limited to the Asian Championship, but extended to local competitions as well.

He explained: “The team bid farewell to the President’s Cup and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup tournaments, and also moved away from the competition for the league title. These results reflect, from the point of view of many, the inability to optimally utilize the players’ potential.”

Obaid added, “The real surprise is not in Sharjah’s exit from the continental championship, but rather in the different levels presented by Shabab Al-Ahly during the group stage, despite the distinguished elements it possesses and the state of technical and administrative stability that the club is experiencing.”

Obaid also criticized the rotation policy followed by the technical staff of Shabab Al-Ahly, considering that it had a negative impact on the team’s results, especially in continental matches. He said that excessive reliance on rotation, based on the abundance of prominent names, contributed to the “Dubai Knights” receiving heavy losses, the last of which was against Al-Ahly Saudi Arabia.

He pointed out that “the technical staff was required to maintain the stability of the formation in the Asian Championship, in exchange for implementing the rotation policy in the local competitions, given the difference in the strength of competition between the two championships.”

Unit character

Regarding Al-Wahda’s journey in the continental championship, Khaled Obaid said that the team showed a strong personality in its continental participation, despite the challenges it faced, most notably the departure of its Portuguese coach, Jose Moraes.

He added: “The unit’s management has worked since the beginning of the season to strengthen the team’s ranks with a number of distinguished players, in addition to hiring a technical staff capable of competing, which was reflected in the performance and helped the team secure its early qualification in the tournament, compared to its local competitors.”