Al-Ain fires manager after losing to Al-Wahda

Gulf News/The National/ESPN Star/Al-Ittihad - Abd al-Khaleq Tharwat
For Al-Shorfa.com
2009-12-09

Al-Ain Club celebrates after beating Al-Ahly, 5-3, to win the UAE Super Cup, Dubai, Sept. 23. (AFP/ Karim Sahib)

DUBAI — The 0-1 loss to Al-Wahda on Dec. 2 was the last straw for the UAE’s Al-Ain Club, and German coach Winfried Schafer was sacked after the match.

The nine-time league championship winners posted the news on their website just 24 hours later in a statement saying, “The club management has decided to retire the team coach with immediate effect. We appreciate the good work that he has done with the club and the team in the past season, and we wish him success in his future career path,” the statement read.

The move was confirmed by Mohammed Bin Thaaloub al-Derai, a member of the Al-Ain Club board, who said that the decision was taken by the club management after the loss in a round seven Professionals League match. The defeat came on the heels of the team’s exit from the President’s Cup after losing to Ajman in round 16. Given that Al-Ain is the current titleholder, the loss was particularly hard to accept.

Schafer coached Dubai’s Al-Ahly for two years before transferring to Al-Ain in 2007. His partnership with Al-Ain got off to a promising start when the team defeated his old club to win the Super Cup.

The German coach went on to lead the club to four league victories and a draw with Al-Jazeerah, in addition to two Etisalat Professionals Cup titles and a President’s Cup victory last season, after which his contract was renewed up to summer 2010.

Schafer’s sacking marks the latest in a chain of such dismissals during the current Professionals League season. Brazilian Tonino Cerezo was dropped by Al-Shebab, and his compatriot, Ze Mario, was dropped by Ajman, as was Romanian coach Andone.

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