Dubai: It may have just been a friendly game against a relegated side who were down to 10 men for 53 minutes, but even the most diehard of sceptics couldn't have walked away from Zabeel Stadium on Sunday night without the odd sense that they'd just witnessed the start of something special.
Diego Maradona recorded only the fourth club coaching win of his managerial career against East-coast Ittihad Kalba in front of hundreds of fans all chanting his name, lighting flares and setting off fireworks to welcome the legendary newcomer and his rebuilt side — and this was only on a practice pitch.
The legendary Argentine's first game in charge of Al Wasl ended 3-1 after a game-changing three minutes right at the death saw Mohammad Jamal and Hassan Yousuf throw caution to the wind and confidently blast unstoppable efforts into the roof of the net from long range on 86 and 89 minutes.
Such antics, more characteristic of Al Diego's playing days — when he himself turned England around in 1986 within just four minutes — buried memories of a dull one-all draw and left fans retreating with a silly smile upon their faces.
The magic that most had tried not to get themselves too wound about — for fear of dire disappointment — had seemingly arrived as Maradona danced on the sidelines and jived across the centre circle surrounded by photographers and well-wishers.
It was as if Germany had never scored four past Argentina in South Africa last summer or hadn't denied Maradona his second World Cup back in 1990. Pure elation mixed with emphatic relief had got Maradona off on the right foot, thanks not only to his foreign signings Donda, Olivera and Puch, who all played blinders, but more importantly his local players who performed freely and without inhibition, especially Fahad Masaood.
Self belief
If winning, regardless of opponent, always felt this good I'm sure Al Wasl would have done it more often. The Maradona brand, which in a nutshell is largely about spirit and self belief, was what Al Wasl bought into when they signed Maradona as coach on May 15.
Sunday saw the first returns and few would have left disappointed even as caged deadlock from Olivera's opener on 21 minutes and a Yasir Salem's deflection seven minutes later failed to get the party started sooner.
Excitement to such a degree for an otherwise inevitable win against a far lower ranked team, who were without Sultan Sheif for 53 minutes following a red card, would have meant nothing this time last year under any other coach.
Handshakes
But the personal handshakes post-match, picture opportunities and laughs, jokes and hugs, seemingly for each and every fan, left even supporters feeling like they could run through walls for Maradona, let alone his players. Most did, barriers erected to stop people getting close to Maradona were quickly cast aside.
If hope and optimism could be bottled and sold you would have wanted to encapsulate the air surrounding the stadium that night. The same feeling which left most, in no uncertain terms, backing Argentina at the last World Cup because of Diego, has returned and although Al Wasl have yet to meet their tactical nemesis like the Argentines found in Germany, for now that can most certainly wait!
Dida joins Al Wasl
Al Wasl has completed the signing of UAE Olympic national team keeper Ahmad Mahmoud from Al Shabab Al Arabi on a four-year deal.
The 20-year-old keeper nicknamed "Dida" is a great reinforcement to the squad and will join Majed Naser and Rashed Ali in goal for Al Wasl next season. Mahmoud was recently named "Best Goal Keeper" in the Gulf Olympic Teams Cup 2011 that was held in Qatar.
Marwan Bin Bayat, Chairman of Al Wasl Football Company said: "Ahmad Mahmoud is a very good addition to the Al Wasl squad and has proven that he has what it takes to become one of the best national goal keepers. He is still young and has time to grow and improve even more and we are glad that he can do that with Al Wasl."
Mahmoud expressed his happiness in joining Al Wasl and said: "I'm happy to be here and I appreciate the faith that the club has shown in me and I will do my best to prove my worth. I would like to thank my fans and also Al Shabab Club for the support they have given me and without them I wouldn't have been able to be where I am today. I'm excited to be part of next season's Al Wasl which is proving to be a true contender for the league championship, especially under the management of Diego Maradona."