2013–14 UAE Pro League

The 2013–14 UAE Pro League, known as the Arabian Gulf League for sponsorship reasons,[1] is the 39th top-level football season in the United Arab Emirates, and the sixth professional season. Fourteen teams participate, once again with Al Ain as the defending champions after winning the previous two seasons.

Arabian Gulf League
Season2013–14
ChampionsAl-Ahli
RelegatedDubai
Al-Shaab
AFC Champions LeagueAl-Ahli
Al-Wahda
Al-Jazira
Al-Ain
Gulf Champions LeagueAl-Nasr
Al-Shabab
Matches played182
Goals scored571 (3.14 per match)
Average goals/game3.13
Top goalscorerAsamoah Gyan (29)

The league started on 14 September and finished on 11 May 2014 in accordance with FIFA guidelines ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.[2]

The league was previously known as the Pro League. Starting from the 2013–14 season the name was changed to UAE Arabian Gulf League.[3] The name change has been viewed as a revival of the Persian Gulf naming dispute[4] with Iran accusing the United Arab Emirates of racism,[5][6] and the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran barring the transfer of Javad Nekounam to a UAE club.[7]

Teams

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Stadia and locations

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Dubai
 
Ajman
 
Abu Dhabi
 
Al Ain
 
Sharjah
 
Ras al-Khaimah
 
Madinat Zayed
 
Sharjah
 
Ras al-Khaimah
Locations of teams in the 2013–14 Arabian Gulf League
Team Home city Manager Stadium Capacity
Ajman Ajman   Abdul Wahab Abdul Qader[8] Ajman Stadium 10,000
Al Ahli Dubai   Cosmin Olăroiu Rashed Stadium 18,000
Al Ain Al Ain   Quique Sánchez Flores Tahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium
Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium
15,000
25,000
Al Dhafra Madinat Zayed   Abdullah Mesfer Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium 12,000
Al Jazira Abu Dhabi   Walter Zenga Al Jazira Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium 42,056
Al Nasr Dubai   Ivan Jovanović[9] Al-Maktoum Stadium 12,000
Al Shaab Sharjah   Željko Petrović Khalid Bin Mohammed Stadium 10,000
Al Shabab Dubai   Marcos Paquetá Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium 12,000
Al Wahda Abu Dhabi   José Peseiro Al-Nahyan Stadium 12,000
Al Wasl Dubai   Saleem Abdelrahman Zabeel Stadium 12,000
Baniyas Abu Dhabi   Adnan Hamad Bani Yas Stadium 9,570
Dubai Dubai   Umberto Barberis Police Officers Club Stadium 6,500
Emirates Ras al-Khaimah   Paulo Comelli Emirates Club Stadium 5,000
Sharjah Sharjah   Paulo Bonamigo[10] Sharjah Stadium 18,000

Managerial changes

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Managerial changes during the 2013-14 campaign.

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Replaced by
Al Wahda   Josef Hickersberger End of contract   Karel Jarolim[12]
Al Ahli   Quique Sánchez Flores[13] End of contract   Cosmin Olăroiu[14]
Al Nasr   Walter Zenga[15] Mutual consent   Ivan Jovanović[16]
Baniyas   Salem Al Orafi[17] End of contract   Jorge da Silva[18]
Dubai   René Marsiglia[17] End of contract   Martin Rueda[19]
Al Wasl   Eid Baroot End of contract   Laurent Banide[20]
Al Ain   Cosmin Olăroiu Signed by Al Ahli   Jorge Fossati[21]
Al Ain   Jorge Fossati Sacked   Ahmed Abdullah[22]
Al Wasl   Laurent Banide[23] Sacked   Hector Cuper
Al Jazira   Luis Milla Sacked   Walter Zenga[24]
Al Ain   Ahmed Abdullah Temporary mandate over   Quique Sánchez Flores
Dubai   Martin Rueda Sacked[25]   Umberto Barberis
Al Wahda   Karel Jarolim Sacked[26]   José Peseiro[27]
Emirates   Eid Baroot Sacked[28]   Paulo Comelli[29]
Al Shaab   Marius Șumudică Sacked[30]   Jamsheer Muratocalo
Al Shaab   Jamsheer Muratocalo Caretaker role finished[31]   Željko Petrović
Baniyas   Jorge da Silva Sacked   Adnan Hamad
Al Wasl   Hector Cuper Sacked   Saleem Abdelrahman

Foreign players

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The number of foreign players is restricted to four per AGL team.

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Former players
Ajman   Simon Feindouno   Ahmed Ibrahim Khalaf   Bakari Koné   Boris Kabi   Yousef Nasser
  Driss Fettouhi
Al Ahli   Ciel   Grafite   Luis Jiménez   Hugo Viana
Al Ain   Alex Brosque   Yassine El Ghanassy   Asamoah Gyan   Mirel Rădoi   Michel Bastos
  Jirès Kembo Ekoko
Al Dhafra   Rogério   Bilal El Najjarine   Kamel Chafni   Makhete Diop   Emmanuel Clottey
Al Jazira   Jucilei   Felipe Caicedo   Abdelaziz Barrada   Shin Hyung-min   Ricardo Oliveira
  Nelson Valdez
Al Nasr   Brett Holman   Éder Luís   Léo Lima   Ibrahima Touré
Al Shaab   Josimar Lima   Michaël N'dri   Oybek Kilichev   Jesús Meza   Billy Celeski
  Thiago Quirino
  Julius Wobay
Al Shabab   Adeílson   Edgar   Carlos Villanueva   Azizbek Haydarov   Éder Lima
Al Wahda   Damián Díaz   Sebastián Tagliabúe   Hussain Fadhel   Adil Hermach   Dino Djulbic
  Marco Estrada
Al Wasl   Emmanuel Culio   Mariano Donda   Ricardo Oliveira   Edson Puch   Milan Susak
  Abdelfettah Boukhriss
  André Senghor
Baniyas   Luis Fariña   Sebastián Prediger   Carlos Muñoz   Abdul Salam Al-Mukhaini   Marcelinho
Dubai   Gilles Yapi Yapo   Moustapha Kondé   Salaheddine Saidi   Jehad Al-Hussain   André Alves
  Bruno Correa
  Dramane Traoré
Emirates   Germán Herrera   Derley   Luiz Henrique   Rodriguinho   Diego Perão
  Jair
Sharjah   Fellype Gabriel   Maurício Ramos   Zé Carlos   Kim Jung-woo

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Al-Ahli (C) 26 20 4 2 55 28 +27 64 2015 AFC Champions League group stage[a]
2 Al-Wahda 26 13 9 4 53 33 +20 48 2015 AFC Champions League Third qualifying round
3 Al Jazira 26 12 9 5 46 35 +11 45
4 Al Shabab 26 13 5 8 42 28 +14 44 2015 GCC Champions League group stage
5 Al Nasr 26 13 5 8 42 32 +10 44
6 Al Ain 26 12 7 7 52 33 +19 43 2015 AFC Champions League group stage[a]
7 Al Sharjah 26 10 10 6 29 25 +4 40
8 Al-Dhafra 26 9 8 9 44 44 0 35
9 Baniyas 26 8 7 11 43 42 +1 31
10 Ajman 26 7 7 12 39 46 −7 28
11 Emirates 26 6 7 13 40 53 −13 25
12 Al Wasl 26 7 4 15 32 47 −15 25
13 Dubai (R) 26 3 6 17 24 63 −39 15 Relegation to UAE Division 1 Group A
14 Al-Shaab (R) 26 3 4 19 28 61 −33 13
Updated to match(es) played on 11 May 2014. Source: Arabian Gulf League 2013-2014 table
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Al Ain qualified through winning the Presidents Cup.

Results

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Home \ Away AJM ALI AIN DHA JAZ NAS SHB SHA SHR WAH WAS YAS DUB EMI
Ajman 1–2 0–0 0–0 1–0 3–0 2–1 0–1 1–2 2–2 4–2 3–4 1–1 3–2
Al-Ahli 2–1 1–0 3–1 2–2 3–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 4–1 4–2 4–2
Al Ain 2–1 2–3 1–1 2–2 3–2 5–2 0–0 1–1 0–1 3–0 2–1 5–2 5–2
Al-Dhafra 2–4 1–4 4–3 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–6 2–2 1–3 3–1 0–0 3–2 1–3
Al Jazira 0–0 1–3 2–1 2–2 1–2 3–0 1–0 1–0 4–4 2–3 2–0 2–2 1–0
Al Nasr 2–1 0–2 1–0 2–1 0–0 2–1 2–1 0–0 0–2 6–1 4–3 5–1 0–0
Al-Shaab 4–4 1–3 0–5 1–2 1–2 2–0 2–1 1–1 1–3 1–4 1–2 2–1 3–3
Al Shabab 3–1 1–1 3–1 1–0 2–4 2–0 1–0 2–0 1–2 1–0 1–1 3–0 3–1
Al Sharjah 2–1 1–1 1–3 0–3 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–2 2–1 2–0 1–0 3–0 0–0
Al-Wahda 4–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 3–4 3–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 3–2 2–0 4–0
Al Wasl 0–1 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 1–0 1–3 0–1 3–3 1–1 0–0 1–0
Baniyas 4–1 2–3 1–1 0–0 1–2 0–2 4–0 1–1 1–3 1–1 0–2 4–0 2–1
Dubai Club 2–1 0–1 0–3 1–5 0–2 0–3 1–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–3 1–4 1–1
Emirates Club 1–1 1–2 1–2 2–3 3–2 0–3 5–2 3–2 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–3 2–3
Updated to match(es) played on 11 May 2014. Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

References

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  1. ^ "UAE Pro League - Home".
  2. ^ "New season to kick off on 30th August with Super Cup Final". Pro League Committee. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  3. ^ "New League name announced by H.E. Mohammed Thani Murshed Al Romaithi". Pro League Committee. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  4. ^ James M. Dorsey (13 September 2011). "MIDEAST - Gulf rivalry between Iran, UAE transferred to the football pitch". Hurriyetdailynews.com. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  5. ^ Category: Asia (29 May 2013). "Iran accuses UAE of racism in renaming Pro League to the Arabian Gulf League". Inside World Football. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  6. ^ persiangulfstudies.com. "Persian Gulf Studies Center". Persian Gulf Studies Center. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Iran bars captain's UAE transfer over Gulf name". Fox News. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  8. ^ "Ajman coach Abdul Qader: Shock Etisalat Cup final win is just step 1".
  9. ^ John McAuley (21 June 2013). "Arabian Gulf League: Al Nasr give Ivan Jovanovic carte blanche". The National. Abu Dhabi Media. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  10. ^ "Paulo Bonamigo's rebuilding job at Sharjah starts with Ze Carlos". The National. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "Quique Sanchez Flores wants Al Ain to be inspired at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium". The National. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Pro League: Wahda announce Czech as new coach as Hickersbergers sees out draw with Jazira". The National. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  13. ^ "Quique Flores leaves Al Ahli". Pro League. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  14. ^ "Do not judge me, says Olaroiu after switch over from Al Ain to Al Ahli". The National. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  15. ^ "Al Nasr reach tentative agreement with new coach Ivan Jovanovic". Pro League. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Arabian Gulf League: Walter Zenga has a view to stick around". The National. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  17. ^ "Arabian Gulf League: Jorge da Silva to bring winning ways to Baniyas". The National. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Swiss coach Martin Rueda takes over the helm at Dubai club". The National. Abu Dhabi Media. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  19. ^ John McAuley (28 May 2013). "Pro League: Al Wasl unveil Laurent Banide as their new manager". The National. Abu Dhabi Media. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  20. ^ "Fossati Al Ain Manager Officially". The National. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  21. ^ "Al Ain dismiss Fossati". Pro League Committee. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  22. ^ "Laurent Banide dismissed as Al Wasl coach". UAE National Newspaper. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  23. ^ "Walter Zenga replaces Milla at Al Jazira". UAE National Newspaper. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  24. ^ "Dubai part ways with coach Martin Reuda". UAE National Newspaper. 4 November 2013. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  25. ^ "Karel Jarolim sacked as Al Wahda coach". The National. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  26. ^ "Former Braga coach Jose Peseiro is Al Wahda's man". The National. 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  27. ^ "New coach Paulo Comelli intent on proving he is no 'tourist'". The National. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  28. ^ "Emirates unveil new Head Coach Paulo Comelli". Pro League Committee. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  29. ^ "Shaab coach sacked in seventh casualty of Arabian Gulf League this season". The National. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  30. ^ "Al Shaab turn to Zeljko Petrovic to save Arabian Gulf League campaign". The National. 23 December 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2013.