Al Wasl coach Gabriel Calderon still has “great confidence” in his troops despite a string of pre-season friendly defeats.
The Cheetahs claimed a solitary 2-1 win against Saudi Arabia’s Al Taawon during a quartet of matches in their Netherlands training camp, going down 1-0 to AZ Alkmaar, 2-1 to Achilles ’29 and 1-0 to Al Shabab Riyadh.
Last term’s sixth-placed Arabian Gulf League finishers are now in Spain until August 15 as they ramp up their 2015/16 preparations.
Al Wasl FC will leave Netherlands Sunday, and travel to Malaga, Spain, where the team will be camping till 15 Aug
— Al Wasl SC (@AlWaslSC) August 1, 2015
“The first phase of the camp was useful in all aspects and the results did not show this,” Calderon said. “The most important positive achieved is the smooth integration of the new players.
“I am very happy with all the players and the extent of their commitment. I have great confidence in all of them and their ability to evolve.
“We have implemented the tactical shape of the team and will raise the technical level in the second stage in Spain to the best possible level before the season starts.”
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Wasl begin their AGL commitments with a daunting trip to Al Jazira on August 21.
Meanwhile, mystery surrounds former Al Ain and Al Dhafra coach Dzemal Hadziabdic since he left Iraq a day after flying in to take over the national football squad.
Best known as Jamal Haji, the 62-year-old Bosnian coach – who has spent years managing teams in the Gulf – had arrived in Baghdad on Friday to sign a contract and undergo a press conference.
“We were surprised Jamal Haji turned down the job and demanded to fly back to his country immediately,” Iraq Football Association spokesman Kamel Zghayr told AFP.
“We officially requested access to the CCTV footage from the hotel’s security office to find out whether anybody approached Haji. We’ll also check the SIM card he used since his arrival but we don’t suspect he has received any threats.”
The former Swansea defender left Fujairah by mutual consent in September 2014 after guiding them to Arabian Gulf League-promotion.
