The hour of Gerard Zaragoza: “I am lucky”

The Spanish coach Gerard Zaragoza, so far in charge of the U21 team of Shabab Al Ahli Saudi, will take over the first team after the board decided to stop Rodolfo Arruabarrena. The Argentine, who during his time as a player belonged to Villarreal, had only won a victory in the last seven games but kept the leading team in the UAE League. “That they have thought of me and my coaching staff makes me feel very fortunate. The president is very happy with our work in the U21. We will continue along the same lines so that everything goes well“, reveals Zaragoza to this newspaper.

The Spaniard acknowledges that he did not hesitate for a second when accepting the club's proposal, which came to him through the team manager. “We met and they proposed to be the coach until end of season. I didn't think twice, “recalls Gerard Zaragoza, who will seek to recover the best version of the Cordoba striker Pedro Count: “He is a very important player in our league. He comes to score many goals with his previous club. We have already spoken and he knows what I want from him. I need all the players to be important in the eight games we have left.”

Gerard Zaragoza is aware that taking the reins of a leading team implies that it is impossible to improve the results. However, he accepts the challenge “as an opportunity to improve.” “I am a very optimistic person and I think this will help me to grow. But not only at work, but also personally. I hope to get the best out of the team and achieve the objective, which is to conquer the UAE League“adds a coach who already knows what it is to lead in Georgia, where he was in charge of Torpedo and Locomotive; Qatar, where he worked as an assistant, and India, being there the right hand of Carles Cuadrat in Bengaluru.

“Football in India is improving a lot every year and has a great future ahead. I am sure that we will soon see very good players. Middle Eastern football already knew him from my stage in Qatar. There is more money, which means best players and incredible infrastructures. For me, the most important thing is the daily work, only then can you achieve goals “, completes Zaragoza, who will also have the opportunity to debut in the Asian Champions League. His first match at the head of Al Ahli, however, will be next Friday, when those from Dubai visit Ajman. The match will be played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus crisis.