Accumulated technical and administrative errors led to Sharjah’s exit from all competitions

Athletes said that the decline in the results of the Sharjah Club team and its exit from all local and Asian competitions this season is due to cumulative technical and administrative errors, despite the changes that the club has witnessed at the level of the technical staff, management and players.

Sharjah had won the AFC Champions League 2 title in last year’s edition, under the leadership of its former coach, the Romanian Olario Cosmin, before he moved to coach the national team. However, the team bid farewell to the elite AFC Champions League competitions in the group stage this season, and also lost the opportunity to compete for the crown in the local championships.

The athletes confirmed to “Emirates Today” that among the most prominent reasons for the decline were the successive losses at the beginning of the season, and their psychological impact on the players, as well as contracting players below the required level, in addition to keeping some elements despite the decline in their levels, and attracting players who occupy the same positions, which created a technical accumulation (such as the playmaker position), changing more than one coach within a short period, and finally the lack of an alternative at the level of the main goalkeeper Adel Al Hosani.

Sharjah signed Portuguese coach Jose Moraes last December, replacing Serbian Milos, in an attempt to save the season, but the results did not improve as hoped.

Despite this, Moraes succeeded in leading the team to win the UAE Super Cup and the UAE-Qatari Super Cup, but he did not compete for the team’s remaining opportunities during this season.

Moraes led the team in seven league matches, winning three, losing three, and drawing one. At the AFC Champions League level, Moraes led Sharjah in three matches, drawing only one match with Al-Duhail of Qatar 1-1, and losing in two matches against Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia and Nasaf of Uzbekistan.

Numbers and results

At the elite level of the AFC Champions League, Sharjah played eight matches, during which it collected eight points from two wins, two draws and four losses, to occupy ninth place and bid farewell to the tournament.

In the league, the team ranks ninth with 17 points from 15 matches (five wins, two draws, and eight losses).

According to the latest statistics of the Transfermarkt website, the team’s market value is 35.28 million euros, ranking fifth among Emirati clubs in terms of market value.

Cumulative errors

The former international player and former head of the technical committee at Sharjah Club, Ali Thani, considered that there were cumulative technical and administrative errors that occurred since the second round of last season and were not addressed properly, which caused a decline in the team’s results.

He stressed that winning the Super Cup title is not a true measure of governance at the team level, pointing out that administrative work in football, although it takes place behind the scenes, its results are clearly reflected on the field.

He said: “The team’s problem began in the second round of last season when it was at the top, and it continued without treatment or the ability to rebuild a competitive team, so it was eliminated from all tournaments.”

Ali Thani stressed that he is not talking about specific people, but rather about a work system that needs review.

Losses at the beginning of the season

For his part, former Sharjah team manager, Badr Ahmed Al Hammadi, said that despite the change in the club’s management and technical staff, in addition to attracting new players, the team’s situation did not improve, but rather witnessed a clear decline.

He explained that the losses the team suffered at the beginning of the season had a negative psychological impact on the players, in addition to the lack of success in some recent contracts, considering that such matters occur in football.

He pointed out that the previous and current administrations made great efforts to provide the requirements for success, pointing out that the team achieved, during the era of the current administration headed by Mohammed bin Hindi, the UAE Super Cup and the UAE-Qatari Super Cup, but the real standard remains the league championship.

He added: “Sharjah’s loss to Nasaf and being eliminated from the AFC Champions League does not mean that the team is bad, especially since it previously defeated Al-Ahly Saudi Arabia, the champion of the previous edition, but sometimes overconfidence may reflect negatively, as happened against Nasaf. Coach Jose Moraes must not be held responsible alone, as he is a capable coach, as is former coach Milos, for whom we have the utmost respect.”

He stressed that Moraes’ artistic mark was represented in achieving two Super Cups, despite failing in the rest of the achievements.

Technical problems

In turn, international lecturer at the Football Association, technical analyst Omar Al Hammadi, said that the main problem that Sharjah is suffering from this season is due to several technical factors, most notably the contract with coach Milos without studying the suitability of his style to the nature of the team.

He explained that “former coach Olario Cosmin relied on the defensive style and counter-attacks, while Milos tried to change his thinking to the offensive style, but he did not succeed in doing so.”

He added that among the reasons was also the signing of players who occupy the same positions without addressing the gaps in other positions, explaining that “Igor Coronado was contracted in the playmaker position, which is the position occupied by Firas Balarabi, and Caio Lucas and Adel Taarabt could also play in it, at a time when the team is suffering from a clear defect in the back line.”

He continued: “The quality of some of the players who were recently contracted does not meet the needs of a team that aspires to compete in local championships and go far in the Asian Championship. Despite the change of coach before the winter transfer period, players at the required level were not attracted, which requires a re-evaluation by the committee responsible for selecting players.”

Al-Hammadi pointed out that the team does not currently have a replacement goalkeeper with the same technical level as the main goalkeeper, Adel Al-Hosani, which represents an additional weakness.

He said: “The current season has become a season to forget for Sharjah, and we must focus from now on the next stage, by achieving technical stability and carefully selecting foreign and national players, especially in the defense line.”