#360view: Braga’s second spell with Jazira will be defined by defence

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  • Returning hero: Abel Braga.

    The hackneyed phrase goes, “you should never go back in love and life”. Al Jazira are testing this maxim having reinstalled Abel Braga as coach.

    The saying has relevance in football. For every Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, there are many more such as Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool and Louis van Gaal at Barcelona who endured painful second spells.

    The Pride of Abu Dhabi and their returning boss will be confident they can buck this trend, repeating the halcyon days from 2008-2011 when a trio of top-two finishes were registered and the Arabian Gulf League, President’s Cup and Arabian Gulf Cup were claimed.

    Braga will be aware he is now sitting at the helm of a much-changed beast. Judged by the intolerance shown to outgoing supremo Eric Gerets, second-placed finishes in 2008/09 and 2009/10 would have seen him booted aside.

    Patient build-up is no longer part of the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium make-up. But there are tangible reasons why the decision to re-hire the ex-Paris Saint-Germain centre-back can bring glory back to the capital.

    Jazira have an insatiable attitude towards swallowing up coaches, the 62-year-old the seventh incumbent since he walked away four years ago following the top flight and President’s Cup double.

    Gerets was highly rated and heavily recruited when he signed a two-year deal from Qatar’s Lekhwiya last summer, although this reputation did nothing for the job security of an esteemed practioner who had also sampled Middle Eastern glory at Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal.

    An Achilles heel for him was a defence which was the third-worst in the 2014/15 AGL, only bettering the relegated sides. Even the January addition of experience Al Ahli centre-back Basher Saeed proved too little to stem the flow, while he was unable to transfer the knowledge gained as a leading defender with Belgium and PSV Eindhoven during his playing days.

    Fares Juma will imminently arrive to shake off the rust from the Al Ain bench to add quality and numbers, though no foreign acquisitions are expected to match the stunning ones made in attack.

    Playmaker Thiago Neves – who starred under Braga at Fluminense in 2012/13 – has been signed up, Roma winger Gervinho set to undergo medical examinations once returned from international duty with the Ivory Coast.

    A top-draw defensive addition had seemed sensible for this summer, an obvious plaster to fix the problems at the back. Yet Braga proved in his previous period in the UAE he can win titles with exciting non-Emiratis players, something Gerets failed to do.

    During the 2010/11 march to the top-flight crown, attackers Matias Delgado, Bare and Ricardo Oliveira all performed key roles as the team plundered an incredible 64 from 22 matches. At the rear, it was left to locals such as Abdulla Mousa, Juma Abdulla, Khalid Sabeal and Yaser Matar to hold firm.

    Only 27 goals were conceded in 22 AGL matches, adding to 26 and a miserly 17 in his other seasons. Jazira were top scorers with 66 in 26 last term, but when compared to the chronic 46 given away the contrast to Braga’s time is telling. 

    Jazira are banking on their new boss being able to repeat history and elicit improved solidarity from a similarly top-heavy squad.

    Both he and Gerets were standout defenders during their playing days. The Pride of Abu Dhabi have gambled the similarities end there.

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