Al Ahli's pitch for Asian Champions League

Former UAE league champions Al Ahli are targeting Asian Champions League qualification next season after unveiling Fabio Cannavaro as their captain and announcing the appointment of former Aston Villa and Leeds boss David O’Leary as their new manager at a press conference on Sunday.

Italy’s World Cup winning captain Cannavaro aims to inspire Al Ahli to new heights this season as he begins a new chapter in his life and career after announcing his retirement from the international game following Italy’s failure to qualify to the second round of the World Cup in the South Africa.

“He is a great leader and inspiration and has won trophies wherever he has played. We hope he can help bring success to our club and also with the great amount of talent we have how, to be as professional as we can be,” said Al Ahli’s Sporting Director Mark Bell, of the 2006 Fifa World Player of the Year who moved on a free transfer from Juventus.

“Fabio is just one part of our club strategy. In our quest to fulfil Shaikh Hamdan’s vision, we have invested in quality in every department. New coaching staff are coming in and are already in. The facilities for training, medical care and sports science are being greatly improved. We have great support and leadership from our chairman Abdulla Saeed Al Naboodah,” added Bell. “And we know that this signing is not only good for our team and supporters but is also great news for Dubai.”

Al Ahli struggled last season being one of the bottom teams in the league and recording just one win in the AFC Champions League group stages. “Al Ahli has always been a top flight and quality club in UAE football. Now we hope to be a club for fans of every background to come and see. We will do this by letting the football do the talking,” said Bell.

“I’m happy to be here. At the moment I just want to concentrate on the football side and really do well here. And then I will be open to anything in the future,” said Cannavaro who signed a two-year deal with Al Ahli two months ago.

“When I heard about the interest from Al Ahli in UAE, I started following a bit about the league. In fact I came a bit early to Dubai to get to know a bit about the country and players. So hopefully this would be a good way to start,” said Cannavaro who will proceed to Austria on Wednesday with the rest of the team for pre-season training lasting three and half weeks.

Asked why he chose to end his playing days in UAE and not in his native Naples as stated earlier, 36-year-old Cannavaro said: “I was born in Naples and it would have been a nice thing (to end his career there) but Napoli did not have the same kind of ideas for the future. I’m happy to take this new road for the future.”

The former Inter Milan and Real Madrid central defender said it was not a difficult choice to relocate with his family. “Everybody knows the United Arab Emirates is a very nice country. It’s safe for my family. After the meeting I had with Sporting Director Mark Bell, I could tell that Al Ahli was a club that looked at the future and they have started to invest. Therefore, it was a very clear choice and very easy choice. I would like to end my career here,” said Cannavaro who has a record 136 caps with Italy and is the only defender ever to win the Fifa World Player of the Year award.

“Last season was not the best season for Al Ahli. I think this will be a solid foundation for the future growth of the club,” said Cannavaro looking forward to the new challenge.

“It is definitely not an economic choice. It’s more of a family choice. I love the country. Having played 20 years between Serie A and Liga, I thought it would be a good change and new experience,” he added.

Cannavaro said he would not be feeling any pressure and even promised to try and communicate in Arabic later in the season. “Obviously I’m bringing to Dubai all my past experience. Here there is no pressure or not as much pressure in the leagues that I used to play. I would like to help younger players gain something from his experience and possibly this would help them win something important in the future,” he said.

Bell feels his mere presence is a big boost for UAE football. “As we go and improve we believe so will professional football in UAE and Fabio will be playing a big part in that. He has a world class track record and when we bring that kind of individual into the kind of environment he can give a lot of experience, he commands a lot of respect,” he said.

“You cannot argue with his playing record. We all try to bring attractive players to the region. Fabio would be really at the pinnacle of those that we have trying to bring here. He is a world class performer and a world class person. And the latter has a lot to do with our decision,” added Bell.

Asked how it would feel playing in front of half empty stadiums, Cannavaro said: “My passion is football and it’s to play. It doesn’t matter whether nobody comes to stadiums. For what is important is the pleasure of playing.”

He bemoaned the fact that Juventus had a bad season although they finished second. “However, nothing can take away the fact that Juventus is one of the greatest clubs in the world,” he said.

Talking of the World Cup he did not predict who would win but rated Spain and Germany as the favourites. “Four good teams have reach the semifinals. Because I have lot of friends and teammates in both teams (Sapin and Germany), I don’t want to predict who will win,” said Cannavaro who shrugged off speculation that Italy fielded an ageing team.

“In reality there are five other teams that have older players than us. The real problem was that we had a big change since 2006 and I think that affected our performance a bit,” he said.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.