Cosmin Olăroiu (55 years old) will soon, in mid-November, complete three years since he coached Sharjah from the Emirates. With remarkable results, he won three trophies during this period. And the current season has been a successful one so far, one in which Oli’s side remained unbeaten until Sunday.
Cosmin Olăroiu. PHOTO: The Truth Archive
Having reached stage number 6, the championship in the Emirates scheduled, on Sunday, the great match Shabab Al-Ahli – Sharjah. It was a duel between the top two teams in the standings, with maximum points after five rounds. A balanced game started to go in favor of the hosts, after the goal of Iranian Sardar Azmoun in the 55th minute. Later, the Persian striker, brought from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, would cause an ugly incident towards the end of the meeting. Because of which both he and Cosmin Olăroiu paid.
In the 85th minute, Guilherme (Shabab Al-Ahli) started a counterattack and was brought down in the Sharjah box. Immediately, center Ahmad Salem Khalfan pointed to the spot with lime. This decision surprised Olăroiu, who gestured on the sidelines, explaining to the reserve referee that it was not a penalty. Then, Iranian Sardar Azmoun, who had been taken off the field, added gas to the fire in the 77th minute.
The Iranian striker behaved badly, the scandal being so big that the television in the Emirates refused to broadcast the images! However, the commentator repeated that Azmoun’s target was Olăroiu. Later, when Azmoun was removed from the area, Emirati television footage showed Oli struggling to be calmed down by his associates.
After this scandal, the center of the meeting arrived near the reserve benches and, after a dialogue with his reserve, proceeded to measures: red card for Azmoun and Olăroiu.
With the Romanian technician sent to the stands, Sharjah reduced the handicap, after Guilherme Biro’s goal (90+7). And, as the game had more than 15 minutes of overtime, Sharjah missed the equalizer twice! In the end, however, Oli’s team finished the match with ten men, after goalkeeper Adel Al Hosani was sent off for a handball committed outside the box (90+16).
Shabab Al-Ahli – Sharjah finished 2-1, the result bringing the first defeat for Olăroiu’s side this season after 11 games in all competitions. Sharjah recorded 9 wins and 1 draw in the remaining official matches.
