[ 2011-12-27 ]

Asamoah Gyan

Asamoah Gyan the inspiration behind Al Ain's quest for a 10th league title
While socks don’t feature too high on Asamoah
Gyan’s Christmas wishlist, come the end of the
UAE Pro League season the Ghanaian will surely be
celebrating gifts of a very different kind.

A deadly double in Al Ain’s 3-1 win over
reigning champions Al Jazira last Thursday
maintained his side’s unbeaten start to the
season and continued his own stunning start to
life in the Emirates as he took his goalscoring
tally for the season to 12 in as many games.

It was a match-winning performance that more than
vindicated the praise afforded to him by Jazira
boss Franky Vercauteren who hailed Gyan as “the
most efficient and most important player in the
Pro League” in the build-up to the
top-of-the-table Christmas cracker.

And so he proved with a devilish display of pace,
power and finishing prowess that ultimately proved
Jazira’s undoing as they succumbed to just their
second defeat of the campaign.

On this evidence Gyan is a shoe-in for the Golden
Boot this season.

It’s no wonder then that one of Martin
O’Neill’s first acts as Sunderland boss was to
express an interest in bringing the club’s
record signing back to the club from his
season-long loan at the Tahnoun Bin Mohammed
Stadium.

Gyan however is committed to the cause in the
Garden city. Labelled a mercenary for turning his
back on the bright lights of the Premier League to
join Al Ain in a reported world record £6million
loan deal last September, Gyan has settled well
into life in the UAE.

“I know people will be wondering why I moved to
the Middle East, but it’s up to me,” the
striker said in a recent interview. “Whoever
said I went for money needs to think twice. I made
a decision with my family and the most important
thing was for me to be happy and to be with my
family. I’ve started to score some goals, I’m
enjoying myself and it’s a new experience for
me.”

Al Ain’s victory over Jazira, rendered even more
impressive as it came in the champions’ own
backyard, increased their lead at the top of the
table to four points over their opponents while
their other rivals – namely Al Wasl and Al Ahli
– continue to struggle for consistency.

It marks a stunning turnaround for a club that
just 12 months ago was in the midsts of a wretched
campaign which only saw them avoid the ignominy of
relegation in the final few weeks of the season,
eventually finishing 10th.

Fastforward to present day and the transformation
has been nothing short of miraculous. Credit for
that must go to Romanian coach Cosmin Olariou, who
has instilled belief and discipline in the side
following his appointment in the summer.

The 42-year-old has a proven track record having
led Steaua Bucharest to the UEFA Cup semi-finals
in 2006, the same season as they also won the
domestic double with league and cup triumphs. And
he appears to have found that winning formula in
Al Ain.

Olarious’s fellow Romanian Mirel Radoi has been
another standout performer for the side whether
deployed in defence or in the holding midfield
role with his influence just as noteworth as
Gyan’s.

Argentine schemer Ignacio Scocco, a summer capture
from AEK Athens, has also been a shrewd purchase
with the diminutive midfielder providing a
subtlety to Al Ain’s play that was evidently
lacking last season and the ammunition for Gyan.

Tough tests await in 2012 for The Boss, with
Gyan’s enforced absence due to his involvement
in the African Cup of Nations potentially
season-defining.

Jazira’s strength in depth and their
title-winning nous coupled with Al Shabab’s
attacking verve ought to ensure both sides there
or thereabouts come the end of the campaign.

However, from what we have been treated to so far
from Gyan and Co. don’t expect the wheels to
come tumbling off as Al Ain eye an unprecedented
10th league crown.

Source - Sports360.com

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