KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
Fans of Al Ain are furious at their manager Leonardo Jardim, who recently took over from Hernan Crespo, with the club's hopes in this campaign of the Asian Champions League (ACL) Elite hanging by a thread. They take on formidable Qatari rivals Al Rayyan at home in the Garden City at 6pm.
The defending champions resume on Monday after a two-month break hoping the new coach must have strategised well and will motivate the team for the remaining two group matches left for them to play in a revamped format this year. They would still need other results to go their way as eight out of 12 teams in their group advance to the next stage.
Instead, it has transpired that Jardim has been in talks for a way out to Brazilian club Cruzeiro, who are also looking for a replacement after sacking Fernando Diniz and are trying to lure Jardim, 50, with a supposedly two-year or 18-month contract. He didn't have much time to work his magic on Al Ain as his two matches in charge prior to the break only garnered one point.
Two draws and four defeats from six games leaving them down in 11th place in the 12-team West Asian side of the draw. Domestic form is bad as well for the 14-time champions in the ADNOC Pro League. On Friday, Al Ain were held to a 2-2 draw against lowly Khorfakkan while they lost to Al Jazira in the President's Cup quarter-finals last week.
According to a report in Telecom Asia Sport, a club member said on the condition of anonymity: "It is the time of social media and things like cannot be kept under wraps. It is natural that the fans are upset with the news when the team is not doing well. So the pressure is too high on the management to make a change immediately if the coach is not keen to continue."
Leonardo Jardim boasts extensive experience in European football as well as in the Middle East, having managed renowned clubs such as Sporting, Olympiacos, and Monaco.
His most notable tenure was at Monaco, where he won the Ligue 1 title in the 2016-17 season and played a pivotal role in the development of stars like Kylian Mbappé and Bernardo Silva. That year, the team reached the semifinals of the Champions League.
Additionally, the Portuguese strategist has won the ACL title in 2021 with Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia) and also managed Dubai's Shabab Al Ahli. He has a contract currently with Al Ain until the Club World Cup in June-July.
So far, five out of eight knockout-round berths have already been secured in a competition with Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahly, confirming their progress to the next phase. There they will be joined by Al Sadd from Qatar and UAE champions Al Wasl, leaving the rest scrambling for the final three slots.
Al Wasl have 11 points but cannot be caught as the two teams on five points – Esteghlal and Al Rayyan – play each other in the final round of fixtures. The Dubai club visit Al Nassr on Monday night (10pm UAE), with the hosts potentially handing a debut to Jhon Duran, their $80 million deadline day capture from Aston Villa.