Pro League team by team guide

The National's guide to the 12 Pro League clubs for the 2011/12 season.

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Al Jazira

Manager: Frankie Vercauteren.
Foreign players: Bare (Brazil), Ricardo Oliveira (Brazil), Matias Delgado (Argentina).
Asian player: Lucas Neill (Australia).
Strength: Al Jazira were far and away the best team last season and have kept their championship-winning side together and they can still improve.
Weakness: The loss of Abel Braga was a blow as the Brazilian had spent three years putting together a winning squad. It remains to be seen if Vercauteren can fill those shoes.
2011/12 expectations: To win everything again. The capture of the experienced Neill could be the key as should shore up the defence, while their attackers will always score.
Last season: Champions.
Last trophies: Pro League and President's Cup, 2011.

Baniyas

Manager: Jorvan Vieira.
Foreign players: Andre Senghor (Senegal), David Trezeguet (France).
Asian player: Fawzi Basheer (Oman).
Strength: Strikeforce. Senghor scored 18 in the league last season to be top scorer and Trezeguet was a prolific striker at Juventus.
Weakness: The death of Theyab Awana rocked the club and it remains to be seen how quickly they can recover. Etiaslat Cup results have been poor.
2011/12 expectations: They will expect at least a top-four place after last season's success. Still need to buy an experienced defender.
Last season: Runners-up.
Last trophy: President's Cup, 1991.

Al Nasr

Manager: Walter Zenga.
Foreign players: Carlos Tenorio (Ecuador), Ismael Bangoura (Guinea), Leo Lima (Brazil).
Asian player: Mark Bresciano (Australia).
Strength: They have experience all over the park, with Bresciano brought as a holding midfielder. Tenorio has looked sharp.
Weakness: They scored only 34 league goals last season and that might hold them back again, in terms of challenging for the title.
2011/12 expectations: To retain a place in the top three is their most realistic target. Qualification for the Champions League is the aim.
Last season: Third.
Last trophy: UAE Union Cup, 2002.

Al Shabab

Manager: Paulo Bonamigo.
Foreign players: Carlos Villanueva (Chile), Ciel (Brazil), Julio Cesar (Brazil).
Asian player: Azizbek Haydarov (Uzbekistan).
Strength: Shabab have the advantage of consistency on their side; the coach and all three of the non-Asian players are from last season, and Haydarov has added to their strengths.
Weakness: If Walid Abbas and Essa Mohammed are unavailable, the defence could seem a bit raw.
2011/12 expectations: With some doughty local players and industrious foreigners, Shabab should finish in the top four.
Last season: Fourth.
Last trophies: 2011 Etisalat Cup; 2007/08 league.

Al Wahda

Manager: Josef Hickersberger.
Foreign players: Fernando Baiano (Brazil), Magrao (Brazil), Hugo (Brazil).
Asian player: Mohammed Abdullah Al Shaibah (Oman).
Strength: They have deep experience with seven current UAE internationals, an Omani and three Brazilians.
Weakness: Baiano is in his fourth season in the UAE and has looked slow and is injury-prone, and team can be crippled when players are called up for national duties.
2011/12 expectations: Hickersberger is in his fourth season with the club and is thoroughly familiar with his players and the league, and a championship is a realistic goal.
Last season: Fifth.
Last trophies: Super Cup in September 2011. Pro League 2009/10.

Al Wasl

Manager: Diego Maradona.
Foreign players: Mariano Donda (Argentina), Juan Olivera (Uruguay), Edson Puch (Chile).
Asian player: Richard Porta (Australia) to be finalised.
Strength: With Donda's bustling performances in the midfield and Majid Naser's solid goalkeeping, they can win many crucial matches.
Weakness: The defence lacks solidity, the midfield seems a bit thin and Olivera has yet to impress in attack.
2011/12 expectations: A top-five finish is a fair goal as Maradona implements a new attacking style and tries to establish consistency.
Last season: Sixth.
Last trophies: UAE league and President's Cup, 2006/07.?

Sharjah

Manager: Valeriu Tita.
Foreign players: Marcelo Oliveira (Brazil), Eder Luciano (Brazil), Vanderson Almeida (Brazil).
Asian player: Iman Mobali (Iran).
Strength: In Luciano and Oliveira, Sharjah have an attack that could bother the best in the league.
Weakness: Defence is their Achilles heel and Tita has had little time to change things. The manager is facing a goalkeeping crisis, too.
2011/12 expectations: Sharjah could be battling in the relegation zone. Should be happy if they can avoid the fall.
Last season: Seventh.
Last trophies: President's Cup, 2002/03, league 1995/96.

Al Ahli

Manager: Ivan Hasek.
Foreign players: Grafite (Brazil), Jakson Coelho (Brazil), Luis Jimenez (Chile).
Asian player: Mohammed Yousuf (Lebanon).
Strength: Ahli have one of the best attacks in the league with Grafite in front of Coelho and Jimenez close behind. Then there are the brothers Faisal and Ahmed Khalil.
Weakness: The defence still seems a bit shaky, but with Saad Suroor returning and Mohammed Qassim gradually getting into the groove, things should improve.
2011/12 expectations: With Hasek back at the helm, Ahli fans will be hoping for a repeat of 2008/09. If the Czech can sort out a few glitches in defence, they should contend for title.
Last season: Eighth.
Last trophies: Super Cup 2009, Pro League 2008/09.

Dubai

Manager: Ion Marin.
Foreign players: Simon Pierre Feindouno (Guinea), Nabil Daoudi (Morocco), Abubakr Camara (Guinea).
Asian player: Faouzi Mubarak Aaish (Bahrain).
Strength: They can score goals, as a 5-0 win over Al Wasl in the Etisalat Cup showed, and their new coach has a reputation of having a mean defence, no bad combination.
Weakness: They can also leak goals on the evidence so far, nine in two Etisalat Cup games, but that was before Marin's arrival. No real big-name signings could mean they struggle against the big boys.
20011/12 expectations: To do much better than last season's lowly finish and come out of the shadow of Dubai's bigger clubs and establish themselves in the Pro League.
Last season: Ninth.
Last trophy: None.

Al Ain

Manager: Cosmin Olaroiu.
Foreign players: Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Ignacio Scocco (Argentina), Mirel Radoi (Romania).
Asian player: Yasser Al Qahtani (Saudi Arabia).
Strength: The best attack, on paper, led by Gyan and Al Qahtani with Scocco and Mirel Radoi set to combine with Omar Abdulrahman, the Emirati with the silky touch.
Weakness: The defence is a big worry for Olaroiu with niggling injuries to the central defenders Musallem Fayez, Mohanad Salem Al Enazi and Ismail Ahmed.
2011/12 expectations: They were quick to put their house in order after the worst season in their history. They should be leading contenders, if not finishing in the top three in the league.
Last season: 10th.
Last trophies: President's Cup 2008/09. Etisalat Cup 2008/09, Super Cup 2009. League 2003/04.

Ajman

Manager: Abdul Wahab Abdul Kader.
Foreign players: Karim Kerkar (France), Ibrahima Toure (Senegal), Tia Oliver (Ivory Coast).
Asian player: Hassan Maatouk (Lebanon).
Strength: They have shown remarkable improvement for a promoted club, heading their group in the Etisalat Cup, with Toure topping scorers. Kerkar holds them together.
Weakness: The defence is vulnerable and there is also their inexperience in the top-flight competitions. They will have problems if the forwards leave their scoring boots at home.
2011/12 expectations: They have invested on some good players and should finish in the top eight.
Last season: Division One champions.
Last trophy: None.

Emirates

Manager: Ghazi Ghrairi.
Foreign players: Al Hassane Keita (Guinea), Mohsine Moutaouali (Morocco).
Asian player: Pejman Nouri Roudsari (Iran).
Strength: They will be under no pressure for a team that does not have ambitions of winning the Pro League.
Weakness: Both Kerkar and Nabil Daoudi have left, leaving a huge void. The replacements have yet to prove their worth.
2011/12 expectations: They are the weakest in the league and relegation is most likely.
Last season: Promoted.
Last trophy: President's Cup 2009/10, Super Cup 2010.