Cosmin Olăroiu Leads Al Jazira to Four Straight Wins in the UAE

Cosmin Olăroiu’s Al Jazira has turned a difficult start into a four-match winning run in the United Arab Emirates league. The latest victory came Saturday, when the team recovered from an early setback to beat Al Ahli Dubai 3-1.

The match began in punishing conditions, with temperatures reaching about 40 degrees Celsius, and Al Jazira fell behind in the second minute. The team did not collapse. It responded strongly, overturned the deficit and collected another important league victory.

The result marked a sharp change from Olăroiu’s first match in charge. On Aug. 11, Al Jazira lost 4-1 to Al Ittihad in the final round of Asian Champions League qualifying. The defeat ended its hopes of reaching the main competition and sent the club into the Asian Champions League 2 instead.

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All the credit goes to the players, not me.

Olăroiu played down his own role in the recovery. “All the credit goes to the players, not me,” he said, pointing to the heat, the cramps suffered by several players and the effort required to complete the comeback. He added that the team was operating at only 60% to 70% of the level it should reach, with several new players still being integrated.

Talisca had arrived only the previous day, trained once with the team and then played 45 minutes in the heat. Olăroiu said Kristjan Asllani and Anthony Dennis had struggled with the conditions, while the squad needed time to adapt. He said he loved working with the players and the club, and that any decision on further signings would come after an evaluation.

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I love working with these players and with this club.