2010–11 UAE Pro League

The 2010–11 UAE Pro League season (known as Etisalat Pro League for sponsorship reasons) was the 36th edition of top-level football in the United Arab Emirates. This was the third Professional season in the history of the country. Al-Wahda were defending champions from the 2009–10 campaign. Ajman Club and Emirates Club were relegated from the previous season. Dubai Club and Al-Ittihad were promoted from the UAE Division 1 Group A. The campaign began on 26 August 2010 and ended on 9 June 2011.[5]

UAE Football League
Season2010–11
ChampionsAl Jazira
1st title
RelegatedAl Dhafra
Ittihad Kalba
Matches played126
Goals scored425 (3.37 per match)
Top goalscorerAndré Senghor (16)
Biggest home winAl Wahda 6–1 Al Sharjah
(15 May 2011)[1]
Dubai 6–4 Al Dhafra
(20 May 2011)[2]
Biggest away winSharjah 3–5 Bani Yas
(13 December 2010)[3][4]
Highest scoringDubai 6–4 Al Dhafra
(20 May 2011)[2]
Highest attendance36,241
Al JaziraDubai

After being runner-up for three times in a row Al Jazira secured their 1st Pro League title after beating Al Wasl 4–0 on 16 May 2011.[6] Becoming the 3rd club to achieve the Double in country history after Al Nasr in 1986 and Al Wasl in 2007.[7]

Teams edit

Ajman Club and Emirates Club were relegated to the second-level league after finishing in the bottom two in the 2009–10 season. The two relegated teams were replaced by 2nd level champions Al-Ittihad Kalba and runners up Dubai Club.

Stadia and locations edit

 
 
Dubai
 
Abu Dhabi
 
Al Ain
 
Madinat Zayed
 
Sharjah
 
Kalba
Locations of teams in the 2010–11 UAE Pro-League
Team Home city Stadium Capacity
Al Ahli Dubai Rashed Stadium 18,000
Al Jazira Abu Dhabi Al Jazira Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium 42,056
Al Ain Al Ain Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium 15,000
Al Wahda Abu Dhabi Al-Nahyan Stadium 12,000
Al Shabab Dubai Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium 12,000
Al Wasl Dubai Zabeel Stadium 12,000
Al Nasr Dubai Al-Maktoum Stadium 12,000
Al Dhafra Madinat Zayed Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium 12,000
Al Sharjah Sharjah Sharjah Stadium 18,000
Bani Yas Abu Dhabi Bani Yas Stadium 6,000
Dubai Dubai Police Officers Club Stadium 6,500
Ittihad Kalba Kalba Ittihad Kalba Club Stadium 3,000

Personnel and sponsorship edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Chairman Head Coach Captain Kitmaker Shirt sponsor
Al Ahli   Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah   Abdul Hamid Al Mistaki   Fabio Cannavaro Adidas Toshiba
Al Jazira   Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan   Abel Braga    Ibrahim Diaky Adidas IPIC
Al Wahda   Sheikh Saeed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan   Josef Hickersberger   Bashir Saeed Nike EMAL
Al Ain   Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan   Alexandre Gallo   Ali Al Wehaibi Macron First Gulf Bank
Al Sharjah    Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Thani   Abdul Majid   Abdullah Suhail N/A Saif-Zone
Al Nasr   Maktoum bin Hasher bin Maktoum Al Maktoum   Walter Zenga   Abdallah Mousa Erreà Emirates NBD
Ittihad Kalba   Saeed Bin Saqr Al Qasimi   Jorvan Vieira   Gregory Dufrennes Adidas Gillett Group
Dubai   Sheikh Ahmed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum   Junior dos Santos   Ali Hassan Umbro N/A
Bani Yas   Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan   Mahdi Ali   Fawzi Bashir Erreà Secure Project Management
Al Wasl   Sheikh Ahmed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum   Khalifa Mobarak   Khalid Darwish Nike Saif Belhasa Group of Companies
Al Shabab   HH Sh Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum   Paulo Bonamigo   Adeel Abdullah Erreà emaratech
Al Dhafra   Saif Bin Mohammed Bin Butti Al Hamed   Mohammed Kwid   Mohammed Salem BURRDA ADCO

Managerial changes edit

Pre-season edit

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Replaced by
Al Ain   Vacant Was caretaker, taken on full-time[8]   Abdulhameed al Mishtiki
Al Wasl   Alexandre Guimarães Contract not renewed[9]   Sérgio Farias
Al-Ahli   Vacant New arrival[10]   David O'Leary
Al-Wahda   Josef Hickersberger Contract not renewed[11]   László Bölöni

During the season edit

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Replaced by
Al Wahda   László Bölöni Sacked[12]   Tite[13]
Al Wahda   Tite Resigned[14]   Josef Hickersberger[15]
Al Dhafra   Michel Decastel Sacked[16]   Alexandre Guimarães
Al-Nasr   Helio dos Anjos Sacked[16]   Eid Baroot (caretaker role)
Dubai Club   Ayman Ramadi Sacked[16]   Junior dos Santos
Al Ain   Abdulhameed al Mishtiki Sacked[17]   Alexandre Gallo
Al-Nasr   Eid Baroot Full-time coach appointed   Walter Zenga
Al-Ahli   David O'Leary Sacked[18]   Abdulhameed al Mishtiki
Al Wasl   Sérgio Farias Sacked[19]   Khalifa Mubarak
Bani Yas   Lotfi El Benzarti Sacked[20]   Mahdi Ali
Sharjah   Manuel Cajuda Sacked[21]   Abdul Majid

Foreign Players edit

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Former Player(s)
Al Ahli   Pinga   Fabio Cannavaro   Othmane Trouche
Al Jazira   Matías Delgado   Ricardo Oliveira   Baré
Al Ain   Elias   Brahima Keita   Valentin Badea   José Sand
  André Dias
Al Wahda   Fernando Baiano   Hugo   Magrão
Al Shabab   Júlio César   Carlos Villanueva   Lamine Diarra
Al Wasl   Alexandre Oliveira   Alex Pires   Francisco Yeste
Al Nasr   Léo Lima   Careca   Ismaël Bangoura   Carlos Tenorio
Al Dhafra   Felipe Machado   Boris Kabi   Toufik Zerara
  Mohamed Berrabeh
Al Sharjah   Gustavo Lazzaretti   Marcelinho   Robinho   Marcelão
Bani Yas   Éder Gaúcho   Mustafa Karim   André Senghor
Dubai   Gil Bala   Michaël N'dri   M'baye Camara   Yazid Kaïssi
  Mounir Diane
Ittihad Kalba   Kanú   Grégory Dufrennes   Baba Fatadi   Khadim Diouf
  Moustapha Dabo

League table edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Al Jazira (C) 22 16 5 1 64 27 +37 53 2012 AFC Champions League Group Stage
2 Baniyas 22 12 5 5 38 24 +14 41
3 Al Nasr 22 10 5 7 34 30 +4 35
4 Al Shabab 22 9 7 6 42 32 +10 34 2012 AFC Champions League Qualifying play-off[a]
5 Al-Wahda 22 8 7 7 44 31 +13 31 2012 GCC Champions League
6 Al Wasl 22 9 4 9 31 36 −5 31
7 Al Sharjah 22 8 6 8 30 34 −4 30
8 Al-Ahli 22 7 6 9 30 42 −12 27
9 Dubai Club 22 8 2 12 33 48 −15 26
10 Al Ain 22 6 7 9 33 35 −2 25
11 Ittihad Kalba (R) 22 6 2 14 39 56 −17 20 Relegation to UAE Division 2 Group A
12 Al-Dhafra (R) 22 3 4 15 27 50 −23 13
Source: UFL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Since Al-Jazira also won the 2010–11 UAE President's Cup, the fourth-placed team of the league also qualified for the 2012 AFC Champions League.

Results edit

Home \ Away ALI AIN ITT JAZ NAS SHA WAH WAS YAS DHA DUB SHR
Al-Ahli 0–4 2–2 2–2 1–1 1–3 0–2 4–1 1–0 0–0 3–1 2–1
Al Ain 1–2 1–4 4–1 1–2 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 4–3 1–1
Ittihad Kalba 2–2 4–3 3–4 1–2 2–1 5–3 2–3 2–1 1–3 0–1 0–3
Al Jazira 5–1 4–0 5–2 3–0 3–3 0–0 3–1 4–0 5–3 4–2 3–0
Al Nasr 4–0 0–3 2–0 1–2 3–2 1–3 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–2
Al Shabab 2–2 3–0 4–1 0–2 2–2 1–1 0–4 0–1 4–0 2–0 1–1
Al-Wahda 1–2 0–0 3–1 2–2 2–0 5–2 4–0 1–3 2–4 2–2 6–1
Al Wasl 2–0 2–2 2–1 0–4 2–3 1–3 2–0 2–1 2–1 1–0 1–2
Baniyas 2–1 3–0 4–2 1–1 1–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 2–0 2–0 1–1
Al-Dhafra 2–0 0–3 1–2 0–1 1–4 0–1 1–1 2–3 0–2 3–5 0–1
Dubai Club 2–1 1–0 3–1 1–4 1–3 0–2 0–5 2–1 1–4 6–4 1–0
Al Sharjah 2–3 2–1 3–1 1–2 1–1 0–3 0–0 1–1 3–5 1–5 1–0
Updated to match(es) played on 2 June 2011. Source: UFL
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics edit