No promises, but new UAE football coach Bento focused on building for the future

By Leslie Wilson Jr

sports@khaleejtimes.com

The UAE’s newly appointed football coach Paulo Bento wasted no time to offer a glimpse into his contemporary coaching philosophy asking the players to ‘respect the past, take care of the present and prepare for the future.

The 54-year-old Portuguese manager was speaking after inking a three-year contract at the UAE FA headquarters in Dubai on Sunday that will see him managed ‘The Whites’ until 2026.

Bento, who led South Korea into the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, has been tasked with reviving the glory years of UAE football where the national team qualified for the sport’s quadrennial showpiece in 1990.

With the tournament expanded to 48 teams from six confederations for the 2926 blockbuster to be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States it opens out more chances for lesser established countries.

However, the priority targets for the Lisbon-born Bento, will be the World Cup qualifiers which commence in November and the 2023 Asian Cup which kicks off on 12th January in Qatar.

“I am really happy to coach the UAE as I know how the team plays and the ability and quality of many of the players,” he said in the presence of UAE FA General Secretary, Mohamed Hazzam Al Dhaheri.

“I have played against them and I know what they are capable of, which makes my job very interesting.”

Bento could well have been referring to the 1-0 beating his South Korea suffered at the hands of an inspired UAE in the Asia Cup quarterfinals last summer in Dubai.

“I have watched many of their games recently, like I have done with the many talented teams in Asia and the Middle East,” he said.

"I plan is to keep observing the team and learning more about the players as they play some friendly games. Obviously, I will need to reveal to them what my plans are which will help build a good communication with the team and to make them understand what will be doing over the next coming months.”

Bento says that the preparation for the upcoming Asia Cup and World Cup qualifiers are crucial to building the confidence of the players under a new coach.

He also encouraged them to forget about the past and to focus on the future.

“I don’t believe in comparing what was done in the past with what I plan to do in the future,” he said. “It’s not something I would like them to do either. What’s done is done.

“I believe, it is important is respect the past, take care of the present and prepare for the future as we aspire to achieve our goals and those of the UAE FA.

“I’m not going to promise too much but I am ambitious and with time I believe we can achieve good results for the team and its fans,” he added.

Bento previously coached the Portugal national team from 2010 to 2014 before he assumed charge of South where they were making their first appearance in the knockout stages of the Fifa World Cup for the first time in 12 years.

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At the club level he has been associated with taking the helm at Brazil's Cruzeiro Esporte, Olympiacos in Greece and  Chongqing Dangdia Lifan FC in China

Bento replaces former UAE coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena, whose contract was not extended.

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