The impending official acknowledgement of Gabriel Calderon’s demise at Al Wasl will mark a sad return to form.
The Argentine paid the price on Tuesday for one outburst too many. It only ever ends one way when a coach chooses to take on his board in such a public manner, lambasting their decisions about player recruitment.
But for the Cheetahs to move on positively from this incident, lessons must be heeded. Sadly, there seems little chance of this occuring. Let us not forget, Calderon was the club’s ninth boss in two-and-a-half tumultous years when he answered an emergency call in October 2014.
This chronic instability points at wider issues.
The ex-Paris Saint-Germain midfielder performed wonders during most of his reign. In risk of relegation upon arrival, he worked diligently to bring the best out of the darting Brazilian trio of Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo and Ederson.
After inheriting relegation battlers, a run to sixth place – featuring some of the best football in the Arabian Gulf League – during 2014/15 stood tribute to his outstanding work.
A platform had been set and the failure to convert Ederson’s loan switch into a permanent deal last summer allowed for giant target man Edgar Bruno to come in from Al Shabab. The former Porto strker provided a perfect centre point for forwards Caio and De Lima to buzz around.
A solid 24 points from the opening 15 matches with him in the squad left them well positioned in the battle to gain a play-off berth to the AFC Champions League. But his ungainly play and the fact he was dispensed with by Dubai rivals meant Edgar did not earn a place in the Wasl supporters’ affections.
The final days of the winter transfer window saw him – without Calderon’s permission – binned and miniscule playmaker Rogerinho plucked from obscurity in Kuwait as a replacement.
Never mind the club seemed poised to return to the Asia’s premier club competition for the first time since 2008 with the existing attack. The board knew better.
Rogerinho, predictably, performed miserably. His presence upset a balanced team, seeing them limp home sixth after a run of one win in their last seven league matches.
Calderon produced another post-match rant after Sunday’s final-day loss to Shabab and was sacked, despite the club insisting he is on a “two-day vacation”.
This will also be the fate of his successor unless he’s given more control. Meddling from club management critically undermined Calderon and it will damage them again.
Wasl had steadily slid down the standings before him and a return to the dark days seems nigh.
