Abu Dhabi: Al Wahda lost their Arab Club Championship opener 2-0 to Algeria’s NA Hussein Dey in Cairo on Saturday.
Toufik Addadi headed in a fumbled clearance by keeper Rashid Ali, who came under pressure after a weak back pass from Mohammad Saif on 11 minutes.
Ahmad Gasmi then added another after keeper Ali fumbled Gasmi’s initial effort from Oualid Ardji’s cross on 46 minutes.
Al Wahda’s Sebastian Tagliabue was then sent off on 80 minutes after appearing to stomp on Hussain Al Arifi.
This was Romanian former Steaua Bucharest coach Laurentiu Reghecampf’s first game in charge of Al Wahda since taking over from outgoing Mexican Javier Aguirre, who didn’t extend his contract, and it was The Clarets’ first game since beating Al Nasr 3-0 to win the President’s Cup in May.
They now play Egypt’s Al Ahly in Cairo on Tuesday in the second round of group matches. The Arab Club Championship involves three groups of four teams, with the three group winners and one best runner-up progressing to the semi-finals.
A UAE team has never won or reached the final of the tournament, which has been held almost annually under different guises since 1980.
