Prolific striker Ali Mabkhout has declared barbs that Al Jazira had no hope of rebounding from last term’s awful Arabian Gulf League showing fueled their dominant title win.
Mabkhout, 26, struck a hat-trick in a 5-0 win at Hatta which saw the Pride of Abu Dhabi end, in style, a six-year wait to reclaim the trophy, with two games to spare.
The UAE frontman’s trio moved him onto a leading 31 goals, an improved tally which has helped provide a stark contrast to an awful campaign which threatened shock relegation before coach Henk ten Cate’s mid-season rescue job led them to seventh.
“Of course, we always believe in ourselves,” said Mabkhout, who netted on 23 occasions in 2015/16.
“This is of big importance. Last season was a rubbish season, but we won the President’s Cup. The big thing that helped us this season is that no one said we will win – this helped us too much.”
#Hatta road trip with @mattmonaghan360 4 @Sport360. My favorite ground in the #UAE. Plus @AlJazira_uae won the league! @Hatta_fc #football pic.twitter.com/aFnkMSszzo
— Christopher Whiteoak (@whiteoakpics) April 30, 2017
Merciless form has been shown by Mabkhout on the way to breaking Al Ahli and Al Ain’s duopoly.
His figure is seven more than second-placed Fabio De Lima of Al Wasl and 25 better than nearest team-mate Fares Juma.
He emphasised the collective had carried him to this point.
“I am so proud of myself and my team,” said Mabkhout, who was a rarely-used substitute when Jazira were last AGL kings.
“They have helped me too much – without my friends, I would not do anything. But I am so happy to score 31 this season and I will try to score more if I can.”
The turnaround at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium since Ten Cate was drafted in during December 2015 has been incredible. At that point, they sat two spots outside the drop zone and had registered just three wins from 16 games as the decision to bring back 2010/11 title winner Abel Braga bombed.
Mabkhout beamed when asked about the current set-up.
He said: “I am so happy and proud of my coach, the players and the team. Now it is time to celebrate.”
