Walter Zenga says he is looking forward to a long rest from top level football, but could be tempted to pass on his considerable experience and help the next generation of Emirati goalkeepers.
Former Italy and Internazionale No1, Zenga, was relieved of his duties at Al Jazira last month following the club’s AFC Champions League exit at the hands of Al Ain.
Despite recent rumours over vacant roles at Al Shabab and Bani Yas, the 54-year-old insists he has had no contact with any Arabian Gulf League sides since he left the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.
The former Al Nasr boss is settled in Dubai but bears no grudge over his exit from Jazira, describing it as “normal”.
He said: “Probably now I’ll take a rest for a long time; but I live here, I have my residency, I will stay here.”
During his time with Jazira and Nasr, Zenga has been able to work closely with two of the most highly-rated keepers in the UAE – Ali Khaseif and Ahmed Shambieh.
The Italian was instrumental in bringing through the latter at the Al Maktoum Stadium, while national team No1, Khaseif, was a virtual ever-present under him at Jazira.
However, although all keepers in the league must be UAE nationals, Zenga feels more could be done to ensure young keepers have the required skills for first-team football.
He is even considering opening a specialist academy aimed at custodians and their coaches.
“For a keeper it is very difficult because there is not a school tradition here,” he said.
“All the time we bring in foreign coaches but sometimes the foreign coaches have difficulty improving the players. It is not easy being a keeper coach. In my opinion, there should be a school open for keepers.
“I don’t know if I can do this in the future or not but [I would like to] open one school with keeper coaches and bring through young keepers.
“Because, when growing a keeper you need someone who can teach them in terms of quality and technique, not in terms of diving 100 times a day. It is the technique that must be increased.
“I think the federation should be thinking about this because there is no chance of bringing in foreign keepers but we continue to bring foreign coaches. Why is it not better to open one direct school for the young keepers?”
The Italian admitted handing Shambieh, only 19 at the time, the No1 jersey ahead of then-Nasr captain Abdullah Mousa was risky, but he believes the youngster is now the best keeper in the UAE – better even than Khaseif or Al Ain’s Khalid Essa.
“Shambieh, in my opinion, is absolutely the future of the national team. Me, if I was the coach of the national team, I would bring him now directly into the team,” he said.
“Talking as an ex-keeper, not a coach, Shambieh is the one who has the most potential to become better.”
