It is premature to believe the King are back to reclaim their throne, but the capture of Herculean centre forward Gelmin Rivas promises to create a welcome shake-up of the UAE order.
Sharjah’s trophy room provided a telling setting for last night’s unveiling of the feared Al Ittihad star. Packed to the brim with silverware, the only issue was the date in which the last additions were made.
The heralded second top scorer in the 2015/16 Saudi Professional League arrives at a club with a glorious past, of which their nickname documents. Unfortunately for them, the last of their five Arabian Gulf League successes was in 1995/96 and the most recent of eight President’s Cup wins came 13 years ago.
The end of the last two seasons have instead elicited real fears of relegation, rather than potential unbridled joy.
It is the tangible feeling that Rivas can herald a return to the halcyon days which has so excited the Sharjah masses.
This is something the UAE game requires.
Since the professional era began in 2008/09, only Al Wahda have prevented grandees Al Jazira, Al Ahli and Al Ain from taking home the league trophy. Indeed, the latter pair have held an iron grip on it for the last five years.
The President’s Cup has also not been immune to their supremacy. Since Sharjah last claimed it, only Al Wasl in 2007, Emirates Club in 2010 and Al Nasr in 2015 have denied them.
Gelmin Rivas.
It is premature to suggest Sharjah are now guaranteed to be in the mix. But this show of ambition means fans starved of the essential nourishment of hopes and dreams can gorge once again.
Furthermore, this brave new dawn could turn truly golden if carried on in future transfer windows.
Plucked from one of the heavyweights of the Saudi Professional League, a transfer to Sharjah for Rivas still seems like a vivid dream. Players who rocket in 19 goals in 25 matches during a bravura debut season in the Kingdom are not supposed to follow such a path.
Intriguingly, Sharjah are convinced raids for Al Hilal centre-back Digao and forward Ailton could be concluded before the end of the week. Add in the potential recruitment of ex-Crescent coach Giorgos Donis plus the promotion of several talented youngsters from the batch who won the 2015/16 U-21 League, and a brighter future seems certain.
Other challengers can also be picked out. Fine work has been conducted by Nasr in the current market and Wahda’s confidence continues to grow.
The usual suspects should be starting to sit uneasily.
