ABU DHABI // Twenty minutes after his Al Nasr team suffered a damaging draw against an undermanned Al Wahda side, Walter Zenga raged at a credentialed journalist last night, shouting "you are nothing, you are nobody" as the man retreated from the interview room.
Zenga a moment before had complained that the referee, Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, missed a penalty in the 86th minute of the 1-1 tie at the Al Nahyan Stadium.
“In my opinion it was a very clear penalty for Nasr, and instead we get a foul and a yellow card,” Zenga said. “In the end, this mistake cost two points for us.”
He then was asked a question about the Nasr defence by an Arabic-speaking reporter, and Zenga said, “That is a stupid question.” When the journalist protested being called “stupid” and got up to leave, Zenga said “you must have respect for me and my club”. He and the reporter each said “bye-bye” and the Italian coach finished with: “Enjoy your time. I will enjoy my time in football. You are nothing. You are nobody.”
When asked later why he was upset, Zenga said, “I’m upset when somebody continues on and forgets that I was here in 2007 [with Al Ain], and I know a lot of people and I know what they say on TV, and I would like to have respect. I would like to have respect for me, my club and my fans. Only this.”
An own goal by Fernando Baiano in the 47th minute allowed Nasr to overcome a 1-0 deficit and extend their Pro League unbeaten streak to 11 games, but leaving two points at Al Nahyan Stadium means that leaders Al Ain could take a five-point lead over Nasr by winning at bottom side Dubai later today.
“Still a long way to go,” said Mark Bresciano, the Nasr midfielder. “A lot of games to play and a lot of points available.”
Bresciano also believed the referee missed a penalty when Amare Diane went down in the box after contact with Eisa Ahmed. “But that’s football,” the Australian said.
Josef Hickersberger, the Wahda coach, had no opinion on the non-call in the 86th minute; he said he could not see it from where he had been banished from the pitch after remonstrating with the fourth referee over what the Austrian believed was a delay in getting a substitute on the field.
“The player was waiting almost seven minutes for his change, and the ball was out three times,” Hickersberger said. “When the fourth official couldn’t succeed to make this change, I got upset. There was no headsets; in a country like the UAE, they can’t afford them.
“This is a shame, but it is my fault because I have to get used to this kind of refereeing.”
Wahda took the lead in the 24th minute when a deflected pass fell at Hugo’s feet on the edge of the box and the Brazilian blasted it inside the left post.
Wahda dominated play in the first half, with the veteran Ismail Matar orchestrating the attack and helping the hosts hold the ball for long stretches. Zenga complained that his team attempted too many long balls towards the new striker Luca Toni, resulting in lost possession.
Nasr got even in the 47th minute when a free kick from just outside the box deflected off Wahda’s Fernando Baiano and past teammate Mutaz Abdullah for an own goal.
Zenga conceded Wahda were not playing at full strength, as they also were not in the third week of the season when they recorded a 1-0 victory at Nasr's ground. He said sometimes teams missing some of their top players approach a match with the serenity of reduced pressure.
“Sometime it is incredible, but sometimes it creates relaxation,” he said. “You don’t play with big names and can be more relaxed. That is why I always prefer to play against a full team.”
He said the draw does not deter from Al Nasr's surprise season, in which the Dubai club is contending for their first league title since 1986. He said that over the past 22 weeks of league competition, including the final eight weeks of 2010/11 and the first 14 of 2011/12, Nasr has the best record in the league.
“Today we draw one; we do not win all the games,” he said. “Inshallah, we win all 22 times, but this is not possible for anyone. Some days you have to be happy also with one point.
“No one should forget where we came from. The last 10 years it wasn’t [Nasr finishing] second, first, second, first, championship, President’s Cup. ... Everybody must remember were this club was last year in January, eighth in the league.”
