Red alert for Cuper and Wasl

After humiliating defeat at Al Nasr, coach knows the Dubai club must bounce back against Ajman in the President’s Cup.

Al Wasl coach Hector Cuper’s frustration was plain to see during the 6-1 Arabian Gulf League defeat to Al Nasr on Wednesday. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National
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Teams coached by Hector Cuper do not tend to lose games by five goals. Certainly not in a local derby.

But on Wednesday night, the former Valencia and Inter Milan manager watched in horror as his Al Wasl team went down 6-1 to Dubai neighbours Al Nasr in the latest round of Arabian Gulf League play.

The match turned on one, very early, incident – a rash challenge by Yasser Salem on the Al Nasr striker Hassan Mohammed. Salem, the Wasl defender, walked, and Leonardo Lima scored from the resulting penalty kick.

A goal and a man down inside five minutes, it only got worse after that for the away team. By half time, Al Nasr led 4-0, the match long over as a contest.

Of course, an early sending off is likely to scupper any tactical plans, not to mention exhaust the 10 remaining players on the pitch. But even taking that into consideration, the manner of the capitulation will have sent alarm bells ringing for Cuper only three weeks into his tenure.

Turning Wasl into title contenders was always going to be a tough task. Several managers, including Diego Maradona, have tried and failed.

The appointment of Cuper, a battle-hardened, pragmatic coach, to one of the hottest seats in UAE football promised a more measured approach.

At the press conference announcing his appointment last month, Cuper said he would need very little time to gauge the quality of his squad. After the nightmare at Maktoum Stadium, he must realise some quality is lacking.

At the same conference, Sultan Hareb, a Wasl board member, said it was far too early in the season to looking at potential new signings.

“We’ll wait to see what Mr Cuper needs and the committee will then look into the matter,” Hareb said. “The players already here have shown they have talent and are not in any way inferior to those at other clubs.”

He might be reassessing that view this week.

After four years of Abu Dhabi dominance by Al Wahda, Al Jazira and then Al Ain, there is a real chance that the league title is heading back to Dubai this season.

Al Ahli have opened up a four-point gap at the top of the table over Al Shabab, while Nasr are a further three points behind in third.

Wasl had briefly raised expectations with an unbeaten run following the departure of previous coach Laurent Banide; a 2-1 win over Al Dhafra before Cuper’s arrival, followed by a 3-1 win at Dubai and a 3-3 home draw to Wahda after he took over.

There was also a 3-0 win in the Etisalat Cup against Ajman, the team they will face tomorrow in the President’s Cup third-round match at Al Shabab’s ground.

That it is a must-win match for the Argentine is beyond question, but it will be interesting to see in what frame of mind the team will approach it. Will Cuper dismiss the Nasr result as a bad day at the office, or acknowledge it as symptomatic of a far bigger malaise?

So far, he has shown defiance, and despite an obviously painful defeat, has defended his players.

“From what I saw in the past two matches, I definitely believe the team is very competitive. They showed great spirit in those two matches and a lot of fight,” he said on Wednesday of his two matches in charge.

“We will just need to work harder to forget what happened tonight. Definitely there will be some emotional baggage from this game, but my job is to help the players get over this.”

The President’s Cup tie will offer Cuper and his players a quick opportunity to bounce back, but despite that Etisalat Cup win, Ajman will be no pushovers. After all, they won the Etisalat Cup last season, beating Ahli twice, and Shabab along the way.

In the final, Abdulwahab Abdulqadir’s team produced one of Emirati football’s greatest upsets by beating Al Jazira 2-1 at Wasl’s Zabeel Stadium.

Cuper knows the club can’t afford too many more failures, and has already apologised to the club’s fans for Wednesday’s performance.

For a club that was named the UAE’s team of the 20th century, being the fourth best club in Dubai will not be tolerated for too long.

akhaled@thenational.ae