Al Jazira earned more than just pride with Sunday’s Al Clasico victory. They showed that a team so thrillingly unbalanced look set to produce the most gripping Arabian Gulf League title charges in recent years.
Seven goals were struck at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in a game in which chances were not even at a premium. Indeed, the 20 minutes after Mirko Vicinic struck his match-winning fourth were positively banal.
No one would have been out for a refund though. The fare that preceeded it saw opponents lethal up front and lethargic at the back.
Al Ain and champions Al Ahli were always expected to challenge this season. Less certainty surrounded Jazira’s prospects.
The Pride of Abu Dhabi recruited a top-line coach in Eric Gerets. That was never in doubt. But would they be able to rebound from Abdelaziz Barrada’s defection to Marseille? Was Vucinic out for one final pay day, could Jonathan Pitroipa reproduce his form from the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and was Manuel Lanzini all hype?
The question marks were without justification. Jazira’s trio of new foreign stars have excelled in the formative weeks of the AGL.
They have seen the club race three clear of their nearest competitors in the goals-scored column, helped in no small part by the inspirational 10-goal return of Vucinic. Lanzini bubbles along behind him, Pitroipa’s delivery from out wide elicits fear and Ali Mabkhout is tuned in to the same frequency as his exalted colleagues.
For all that quality, Jazira’s supremacy up top is matched by an alarming degree of frailty in defence.
This is nothing new for the AGL’s great entertainers. Last term, they conceded the most goals in the top half as they secured third-place under Walter Zenga’s solid tutelage.
Currently, you have to look all the way down to Ajman and Ittihad Kalba in the bottom two to spot a more porous rearguard.
This issue is raised with regularity at every press briefing, Gerets answering with resigned fate. The visible frustration does not ebb as he leans back and takes in breath, neither his insistence that repeat analysis and hard work on the training pitch will iron out this weakness.
With no space left in the foreign quota and summer moves to bring in Mohanad Salem and Essa Santo doomed to fail, there is little wriggle room for the Belgian.
There has to come a point when he simply embraces the madness surrounding him. Such a cast will never be able to match the welloiled machine chugging along at table toppers Al Wahda. Neither is the efficiency of champions Al Ahli at their best attainable.
Jazira’s attacking options look beyond peer, bettering even the Boss’ fearsome attack. They are box office, oscillating between the joy of 3-2 wins at Ajman, the absurdity of the 3-3 draw at Al Dhafra and the regret caused by Fujairah’s 2-2 steal.
Awful defensive mistakes drain away points. That is undeniable. The maxim remains that tight defences claim titles.
Swimming with the tide is not for this Jazira though. Al Ain’s derby display looks an aberration for a backline populated by UAE defenders. But they were ripped apart by Jazira.
These men can never be tamed or taught to hold firm. Unabashed vibrancy must become the order of the day.
