Al Wasl Club may have needed 17 long years to win a third President Cup trophy but when they did, they did it dominantly, steamrolling fellow Dubai club Al Nasr 4-0 in Friday’s final at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.
The former Club of the Century which was created in 1974 when Al Orouba merged with Zamalek, last triumphed in the prestigious competition during the 2006-2007 season when they defeated Al Ain 4-1.
Al Wasl, who is coached by Serbian Milos Milojevic, also qualified for the AFC Champions League while an out-of-sorts Al Nasr was denied a fifth President Cup title. They had previously won the tournament four times, most recently in 2017.
Brazilian Fabio Lima was the star of the match scoring twice, including the first from the penalty spot, before Swiss defender Haris Seferovic headed in the third and Emirati forward Ali Saleh added the cherry on the top.
In the semi-finals, Al Wasl beat Ittihad Kalba 4-1 in Sharjah while Al Nasr beat Shabab Al Ahli 4-3 at Al Wasl Stadium.
Al Wasl boast the largest fanbase among the UAE clubs so it was not surprising to see that the stadium was bathed in yellow and their army of supporters were treated to a masterclass by Milojevic’s players led by the mercurial Lima.
They dominated the game from the start, and although it took most of the first half for Al Wasl to get the breakthrough, two goals within five minutes of playing time by Lima sufficied to put an end Al Nasr’s resistance before more by Seferovic and Saleh extended the margin in the second half.
The Serbian paid tribute to his players who he says played with a lot of ‘energy’.
“As Carlo Ancelotti said there is no good coach without good players,” he said. “The team was very good and they played with a lot of energy which made the difference.”
Äl Wasl were unbeaten in the Pro League and other domestic tournaments until their last match in which they lost to Al Wahda, which helped them to reset and sharpen up according to Milojevic.
“After that match, I told them that this game is a good chance to prove yourself. We were not sharp enough in our last match but today we were sharp from the very first minute.”
Looking ahead to the likelihood of Al Wasl completing a double by winning the Prp League Milojevic added: “We have four matches more and if we play with the energy we showed today we can achieve the other target as well.”
Lima who has been a long-serving star of Al Wasl, for whom he has played more than 299 matches and scored 163 goals, said it was one of the happiest days of his career.
“I love my club and UAE, which is now my country,” said Lima who joined Al Wasl during the 2013 season and has also represented the UAE national team after becoming a naturalized citizen.
“I love these colours and love to win matches and tournaments like these. I’m so happy.”
Al Nasr coach Alfred Schreuder admitted that ‘nothing went according to plan’ in the final.
“This wasn’t our day,” he said. “We conceded two quick goals which seemed to affect the confidence of the players. “Congratulations to Al Wasl, they played like champions and deserve this trophy.”
