Al Wasl have denied coach Gabriel Calderon the chance to see out the season after he was sacked amid disintegrating relationships with the club’s hierarchy and players.
The Cheetahs are yet to confirm the dismissal, a club spokesman insisting the Argentine is on an official “two-day vacation”. During the same press conference, it was further revealed assistant coach Saleem Abdulrahman is to take charge of Wednesday’s President’s Cup quarter-final against 2014 winners Al Ain.
Caio Junior is the early favourite to be the permanent replacement after his jettisoning by Al Shabab for Dutchman Fred Rutten at the conclusion of the 2015/16 Arabian Gulf League – a 1-0 victory against his prospective employers.
Calderon, 56, paid the price in a meeting Tuesday morning for repeat criticisms of both his squad’s mentality and the board’s decision in the winter market to swap target man Edgar Bruno for dire playmaker Rogerinho.
The Argentine worked wonders upon his October 2014 arrival, swiftly dragging an ailing club away from the relegation zone and up to sixth. But the same finish this time came after a run of one win in Wasl’s last seven top-flight matches saw them disappointingly drop out of the race for qualification to the 2017 AFC Champions League.
A venomous press conference followed Sunday’s last-day fixture at Shabab, with the ex-Paris Saint-Germain midfielder stating: ”In the first half of the season, we stuck to the coach’s plan. We achieved outstanding results and reaped many points.
“But in the second round of the tournament, we played with the club management’s plan. Our points were lower, and this outcome is not good – there is no doubt about that.
“I think the reason was the replacement of the Brazilian striker Edgar Bruno with compatriot Rogerinho. This impacted negatively on the offensive ability of the team.”
As a veteran of the Arabian Gulf, Calderon is sure to be in high demand. A return to ailing Saudi Arabian heavyweights Al Ittihad is an early possibility.
A one-and-a-half-year tenure at Wasl had provided rare stability and joy for a club who had previously gone through eight coaches since Diego Maradona’s exit in 2012. He departs Zabeel Stadium with a respectable record of 28 wins from 61 matches since his arrival in place of Jorginho, drawing 17 and losing just 12.
Meanwhile, Rutten’s Dutch revolution has begun to take shape with the pursuit of Umm Salal striker Mounir El Hamdaoui.
El Hamdaoui, 31, was born in Rotterdam but has gained 16 caps for Morocco. The new Hawks supremo wants the ex-Willem II, AZ Alkmaar and Ajax forward to rejuvenate a misfiring attack.
Negotiations are under way with the Qatars Stars League outfit, for whom he scored seven goals in nine appearances last term.