Iniesta tops star-studded roster of players and coaches as UAE Pro League season kicks off
The 2023-24 UAE Pro League season kicks off on Friday, and with the likes of legendary Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta and Paraguayan magician Kaku lining up on the pitch, and Netherlands great Frank de Boer and revolutionary South African tactician Pitso Mosimane occupying dugouts, there are ample reasons to believe a repeat of last term’s engrossing campaign is on the cards.
Here are some of the main talking points, plus our predictions, ahead of what seems likely to be another season to savor.
Iniesta’s incredible arrival
It takes something a little bit special for an unheralded, newly promoted side to lead off a season preview. Emirates Club’s refreshingly covert capture of Barcelona legend Iniesta was just that.
How useful a 39-year-old attacking midfielder, who recorded just four goalless J1 League run-outs for Vissel Kobe between February and July this year, will prove to be during what is likely to be a grueling relegation scrap is up for debate. It is not a deal that guarantees the club will avoid a repeat of the 2021-22 season, when they were similarly newly promoted but went straight back down again.
Nonetheless, this is a move that further elevates a competition on the rise. Last season’s impressive growth in attendances and interest can only be boosted by the presence of a universally revered superstar.
The Roshn Saudi League’s unprecedented summer shopping spree has dominated the discourse about Middle Eastern football. When it comes to name recognition alone, however, only Al-Hilal’s signing of Neymar can match the arrival of Iniesta in the region.
New faces, new excitement
ADNOC Pro League viewers were spoiled in last season. A tight, three-way title race and a relegation battle that went down to the wire on the last day made it a season for the ages. There is every chance the new season can go the same way.
At the top, holders Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai Club have added Premier League stalwart Luka Milivojevic and Israel forward Mu’nas Dabbur. Three-time Confederation of African Football Champions League winner Mosimane has added his know-how to Al-Wahda’s mix, with former Ajax supremo Alfred Schreuder is motivated to showcase his best at dethroned champions Al-Ain, alongside 2022-23 Saudi top-flight assist leader Kaku.
De Boer has last season’s Europa League winner Karim Rekik in his squad at Al-Jazira, while 2022’s big-spenders Sharjah have added Tunisia’s Firas Ben Larbi as they aim to convert four cup victories into league supremacy.
Swiss center forward Haris Seferovic teaming up at Al-Wasl with Nicolas Gimenez, formerly of Baniyas, and crowd favorite Caio Canedo, re-signed after four unsatisfactory seasons at Al-Ain, whets the appetite at a club striving for glory for the first time since 2006-07.
But the deep reservoir of talent does not end there.
Best of the rest
A number of other clubs also look refreshed. Ajman lost their talisman, Ben Larbi, to Al-Sharjah but gained fellow Tunisia stars Nader Ghandri, a hulking center back who started in Tunisia’s World Cup 2022 victory over his native France, and burgeoning midfielder Haykeul Chikhaoui.
Ajman’s former coach, Goran Tufegdzic, is now at the helm of Al-Nasr, where Italy striker Manolo Gabbiadini and former Spezia star Kevin Agudelo will link up with retained Morocco maestro Adel Taarabt in their bid to cast aside the tag of “perennial underachievers.”
Former Ettifaq forward Youssoufou Niakate could change everything at goal-shy Baniyas, while Mehdi Ghayedi, on loan from Shabab Al-Ahli, aims to regain his sheen under mentor Farhad Majidi at Ittihad Kalba.
‘Golden boys’ get another shot
Iran forward Ghayedi is not the only former “golden boy” with something to prove. Pre-season pictures suggest that a pair of Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year winners are ready to make a renewed impact.
Omar Abdulrahman’s trademark curls have gone as he looks to build on a solid debut campaign with a deeper midfield role at Al-Wasl.
A svelte Ahmed Khalil could be a game changer for Al-Bataeh. The 2015 Asian Footballer of the Year last netted in the Pro League in November 2020 and made only seven appearances last term.
If injury doubts can be consigned to the past, it could make for a brighter future for upstart sides who must wring absolutely everything out of each asset.
Battle at the bottom
Final-day dramatics kept Al-Bataeh in the top flight last season and the club, founded in 2012, have put in work during the summer to avoid a similar fate this time.
New head coach Mirel Radoi stabilized Al-Tai in the Saudi Pro League last season. He’s joined in the UAE by Cape Verde center back Diney and former Shanghai Port playmaker Paulinho. The loss of 13-goal forward Lourency to Khor Fakkan has diminished them, however, while significantly strengthening a potential relegation rival.
Among the newly promoted sides, Emirates require Cameroon battler Franck Kom to add grit and Iniesta lashings of inspiration.
Hatta have already mixed and matched in the transfer market, emerging with a series of foreign captures. They boast contemporary international experience in the form of Sweden midfielder Moustafa Zeidan, Slovakia center back Vernon De Marco, Democratic Republic of Congo midfielder Aaron Tshibola and Kuwait forward Shabaib Al-Khaldi.
Asian Cup casts a long shadow
Another season influenced by international distractions is in store. After the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup comes the rearranged Asian Cup, which begins at the end of this month.
Question marks linger about the UAE’s prospects after their chastening group-stage exit from the Arabian Gulf Cup in January.
Former South Korea and Portugal supremo Paulo Bento was tasked in July with guiding a nation that has lost its way since two successive semi-final runs at Asia’s showpiece event.
Will a goal scorer emerge who can adequately support Ali Mabkhout? His 27 league goals tally last season was eight more than naturalized colleague Fabio de Lima and 18 more than Ittihad Kalba’s uncapped Ahmed Al-Naqbi.
Is there a better option in goal than typical picks Ali Khaseif or Khalid Essa? Will a workable successor to towering center back Ismail Ahmed ever appear?
Bento has four months, and 12 match weeks, to find the answers.
Kuwait Weekly predictions for the 2023-24 ADNOC Pro League season
Champions: Al-Wahda.
They ended last season strongly and expertly recruited during the summer to secure the services of serial winner Mosimane and Al-Shabab loanee Cristian Guanca, who claimed the 2021-22 trophy with Al-Ain.
Surprise package: Baniyas.
Niakate is the prolific striker they’ve been crying out for.
Signing of the season: Iniesta.
Who else? It’s going to be enthralling to see how he gets on, but…
Relegated: Emirates Club and Al-Bataeh.
Iniesta simply has too much to do for the former, while the latter will fail to build on last term’s great escape.