Sport360’s Matt Monaghan reflects on the latest round of Arabian Gulf League matches and offers his picks of week one.
Do you agree with Matt’s picks?
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Abdelaziz Barrada (Al Nasr)
It didn’t look like the Morocco playmaker had been away from the AGL for the last two years, as he – and a referee who gave four penalties in total – dismantled Al Dhafra. The form from his glorious 2013/14 at Al Jazira was on show as his expert pass set-up Salem Saleh, while his spot-kick was dispatched with the minimum of fuss.
GOAL OF THE WEEK
Caio (Al Ain)
The boss appear to have recruited a bright prospect in the 22-year-old Brazilian winger. His winner against Bani Yas was brutally hammered in off the crossbar after his killer touch earned him crucial time in a crowded penalty area.
COACH OF THE WEEK
Walid Obaid (Hatta)
The new boys – who have managed to get back in the Arabian Gulf League after an eight-year break – gave as good as they got to hold expected title challengers Al Wahda to a goalless draw.
Obaid was a constant figure on the touchline for the Hatta boys, meshing together a squad which had 14 new players introduced to it during the summer.
As the only Emirati boss in the top flight, the flag bearer truly excelled.
TALKING POINTS
Emiratis get among the goals
Asian football is often dominated by richly-acquired foreign players, who are expected to bear the goalscoring burden.
In a boost for UAE boss Mahdi Ali, this was not the case in the AGL’s opening round. A brace from Whites forwards Ahmed Khalil and Ali Mabkhout provided the highlights, as locals scored nine goals to the foreign players’ 10.
This ratio recorded during the most-recent round of games is highly favourable when compared to some of the continent’s other elite competitions.
In neighbouring Saudi Arabia, four more foreign goals were scored than domestic ones.
For the Chinese Super League, a huge chasm existed with only nine local strikes being recorded in comparison to 20 from expensive imports.
The Qatar Stars league and K League Classic were marginally superior, with the goals equally shared.
Indeed, it is only Japan and its more established football culture which was significantly ahead with 25 Japanese efforts to just five foreign ones.
If the state of play remains, the AGL can be proud of its progress.
