Al Wasl dominate Al Nasr to end 17-year wait for a third President's Cup win

Al Wasl Club may have needed 17 long years to win a third President's Cup title but when they did, they did it dominantly, steamrolling fellow Dubai club Al Nasr 4-0 in Friday’s final at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.

The emphatic win sparked euphoric celebrations as jubilant Al Wasl fans started singing their club anthem at the iconic stadium in Al Ain.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, also congratulated the Dubai club on the historic win.

"Congratulations to Al-Wasl Club...to the fans, players and the administrative team Al-Namoos is the first patron of Al-Wasl, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum We also thank Al-Nasr Club for its performance during the current season and their reaching the final of the President’s Cup at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain," Sheikh Hamdan wrote on X.

The former Club of the Century which was created in 1974 when Al Orouba merged with Zamalek, last triumphed in the prestigious competition during the 2006-2007 season when they defeated Al Ain 4-1.

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The emphatic victory kept Al Wasl on course for a magical double as they currently lead the UAE Pro League by a comfortable six points heading into the final stages of the tournament.

Al Wasl, who is coached by Serbian Milos Milojevic, also qualified for the AFC Champions League while an out-of-sorts Al Nasr was denied a fifth President Cup title. They had previously won the tournament four times, most recently in 2017.

Brazilian Fabio Lima was the star of the match scoring twice, including the first from the penalty spot, before Swiss defender Haris Seferovic headed in the third and Emirati forward Ali Saleh added the cherry on the top.

In the semi-finals, Al Wasl beat Ittihad Kalba 4-1 in Sharjah while Al Nasr beat Shabab Al Ahli 4-3 at Al Wasl Stadium.

Al Wasl boast the largest fanbase among the UAE clubs so it was not surprising to see that the stadium was bathed in yellow and their army of supporters were treated to a masterclass by Milojevic’s players led by the mercurial Lima.

They dominated the game from the start, and although it took most of the first half for Al Wasl to get the breakthrough, two goals within five minutes of playing time by Lima sufficied to put an end Al Nasr's resistance before more by Seferovic and Saleh extended the margin in the second half.

The Serbian paid tribute to his players who he says played with a lot of ‘energy’.

“As Carlo Ancelotti said there is no good coach without good players,” he said. “The team was very good and they played with a lot of energy which made the difference.”

Äl Wasl were unbeaten in the Pro League and other domestic tournaments until their last match in which they lost to Al Wahda, which helped them to reset and sharpen up according to Milojevic.

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