Qader returns to Ajman on one-year deal

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Qader returns to Ajman on one-year deal

The 67-year-old Iraqi, who has spent 36 years coaching club and country, has been given a one-year contract and is tasked with returning ‘The Oranges’ to the UAE top flight.

By James Jose (senior Reporter)

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Published: Wed 10 Jun 2015, 12:24 PM

Last updated: Wed 8 Jul 2015, 3:13 PM

Veteran coach Abdul Wahab Abdul Qader

Abu Dhabi — Ajman have turned to the man they always go to when faced with a crisis. Abdul Wahab Abdul Qader, the longest serving coach in the UAE, has been reappointed, the club announced on Tuesday.

The 67-year-old Iraqi, who has spent 36 years coaching club and country, has been given a one-year contract and is tasked with returning ‘The Oranges’ to the UAE top flight. Ajman were relegated to First Division football at the end of the season.

Qader had guided Ajman to the Etisalat Cup (now rebranded as the Arabian Gulf Cup) title in the 2012-13 season where they had defeated Al Jazira. In the inaugural Etisalat UAE Pro-League Awards in the same season, Qader upstaged top names like Spaniard Quique Sanchez Flores of Al Ahli and Cosmin Olaroiu of Al Ain to win the Coach of the Year Award.

But a poor showing in the 2013-14 season where they finished 10th, meant his contract was not renewed by the club as they opted for Tunisian Fathi Al Jabal. Qader had a short stint with Al Fujairah before being replaced by former Al Ahli coach Ivan Hasek.

Qader takes over from Portuguese Manuel Cajuda, who had replaced Al Jabal in January.

Qader began his coaching career as the head coach of the Iraqi Under-19 team in 1978. He then coached the Iraqi Elite National Universities team the next year. He arrived in the UAE in 1983 and was appointed head coach of Al Shabab’s youth squad for a four-year term before he took charge at Bani Yas.

Qader spent five years with Bani Yas, where he guided them to promotion to the First Division in 1988. He also won the UAE Cup in 1992. Al Wahda hired him in 1994 to coach their youth team. After a two-year stint, Abdul Wahab Abdul Qader returned to Bani Yas. Later in 1997, Abdul Wahab Abdul Qader was appointed head coach of the UAE Under-19 squad and was also the assistant coach of the UAE National team at the 1998 Fifa Confederations Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Abdul Wahab Abdul Qader later joined Al Ahli Al Fujairah from 2002 to 2004 before joining Ajman in the 2005-06 season. He spent a year with Ras Al Khaimah in 2006 before returning to Ajman for the 2008-09 season.

james@khaleejtimes.com 


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