‘I’m the right choice’
OSWALDO Oliveira, who turned emotional while reminiscing Al Arabi’s good old days in the 1990s when he was an assistant coach at the club, wants to go the extra mile on his comeback as manager and help them regain glory.
Arabi, who had brought in Gerardo Pelusso in place of Gianfranco Zola and signed several players from Qatar and beyond this season, started off as title hopefuls even though they last won the league shield in 1996-97. But now they sit a distant seventh, with the 0-7 defeat against Al Sadd in the previous week exposing the gulf between their dream and reality.
Oswaldo is the fourth coach to manage the club this season, which has been marred by poor results and financial problems. The Brazilian said he was the right choice to lift the club from the morass.
“I’m not the best coach, but I find myself to be the right choice to lead Arabi at the moment,” Oswaldo, who joined in January, told Doha Stadium Plus.
“It’s here that I spent the most time (11 years) in any club as a member of the coaching staff. I work with my heart and it belongs here. When the management called me, I didn’t look at the contract or salary. I was happy managing top-division clubs in Brazil and enjoying my life there, but I couldn’t turn down Arabi’s call,” said the 66-year-old.
“I was far away and unaware of what was happening at Al Arabi after I left. Still, I followed the club’s campaigns on Internet as well as through my contacts at the club and in Doha. I think football in Qatar grew overall, but Arabi fell from the top while many other old clubs grew with the times,” said Oliveira, who last managed native side Corinthians.
He said Arabi forgot to stick on to their once-successful winning formula and paid the price.
“In the past, Arabi were the best in terms of youth development. The way we used to work was totally different and I don’t see it at the club nowadays. We had a very strong base and had the best young national players in all age categories. We had scouts in and around the city spotting young talents. It isn’t happening any more. We don’t have good players in our youth teams.
“Some new clubs in Qatar presently have more financial clout, but we used to succeed with our own players. We too had brought top professionals like Marco Antonio and Gabriel Batistuta, but players like Mubarak Mustafa, Ibrahim Khalfan and Adel Mulla formed the nucleus of our team. They were all top-notch performers with the Qatar national team,” said Oswaldo.
And he is trying to assemble the former players to help the club.
“I’m trying to bring them together. We recently had a dinner where many of them came. Some of the old Board members too turned up as we wanted new as well as old ideas. We discussed the ways to change the atmosphere at the club,” said Oswaldo.
“I need support from everyone. In the past, a lot of people used to rally around the team and cheer the players on even during training, but I don’t see that anymore. We’re losing our identity and we’ve to rediscover that. I won’t give up.
“Changing coaches too many times has been one major problem. Once we find a coach whom we believe is the right choice for us, then he must be given time to build his team. We must then stick to that. That was the practice before,” said Oswaldo.
Asked how he would solve financial problems, which have been the club’s main worry, the coach said the club had the right people to sort them out.
“I don’t have enough money to solve it myself. But the club has the people to solve the problems. I’m confident about that. I also want the fans to be behind us. The club is going through a tough period, but if you’re a genuine fan, then it’s your duty to come and support us. We want you,” Oswaldo signed off.
