Sharjah: Dubai-based former Real Madrid star Michel Salgado says future footballers in the UAE require top coaching from a young age and need to toughen up if they are to achieve dreams of truly making it in the game.
Speaking at the sports session of the Sharjah Ramadan Majlis, eminent sports experts, including Salgado, emphasised that if UAE footballers are to compete with the best of the best in the international arena, including European clubs, the mantra has to be “catch them young”, harnessing their potential during the early teenage years.
The popular Sharjah Ramadan Majlis is an annual event hosted by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau and Sharjah Media Corporation at Al Majaz Amphitheatre. Wednesday’s session was dedicated to sports.
“European football is the real deal and it is a different ballgame altogether,” emphasised Salgado while offering his assessment of UAE football and if UAE players were good enough to land multi-million contracts with the top teams.
The former Spanish international defender, who played for Real for a decade between 1999 and 2009, winning two Champions League titles, has been living in the UAE for the past four years and has been involved in grass-roots development in the country.
“It’s not the clubs or players but the current system of patronising and excessively pampering players that is to blame for the state of football in the UAE,” Salgado added while suggesting that big bucks and ample perks offered by various clubs are not actually helping by way of kindling the competitive spirit and the killer instinct in local players.
Recalling his own experience of taking to football and training at a tender age back in Spain, Salgado said it is critical to identify and harness future footballers in their early teens, ideally at the age of 11 to 15, and to train them with the best of the best — possibly in Europe. “No coach can achieve miracles by training players at the ripe age of 19 and 20,” he asserted.
Speaking on the occasion, Majid Hassan, a top Emirati footballer, said the constant talk of playing for Real Madrid and Barcelona was not healthy.
“We should be realistic in our assessments and expectations. It is unfair to compare UAE players with European teams.
“Besides, when there are good opportunities and money here in the UAE, why should we go to Europe or anywhere else?” he asked.
Ahmad Al Rumaithi, president, Al Wahda Football Company, said comparing UAE football to Europe was like comparing apples and oranges. He said the various football clubs are as much committed to the game as the players, if not more. “We want our footballers to excel and stay in the game. We are not after their money,” Al Rumaithi said.
