Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Dubai: Al Ahli midfielder Habib Al Fardan has urged his club to find a replacement for former star striker Grafite before their AFC Champions League quarter-final campaign begins in August.
Dubai-based Al Ahli sold Brazilian striker Grafite (pictured, left) to Qatar’s Al Sadd in January before finishing seventh in the league having scored 21 goals less than they did in their UAE title-winning season a year earlier.
An offer has been accepted for Brazilian striker Luiz Adriano, who is currently with Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk, but the player has yet to agree personal terms.
The 25-year-old Al Fardan is hoping that the void will be filled before the club travel to Iran to take on Naft Tehran in the first leg of the AFC Champions League quarter-finals on August 26.
“Of course each player has an impact, you can’t only say a striker has a positive effect,” he said. “We are a team of XI and don’t always depend on one player, but I think we lost a great attacker in Grafite. We hope the next foreigner will be as good as him.
“Grafite was more like a brother to all players, he is such a great player who gives the team confidence on the field and it’s hard to find someone like him. I hope we get someone who can help the team as much as he did.
“I’ve heard Everton Ribeiro and Kwon Kyung-won are staying and we still need to bring in two foreign players. Luiz Adriano may be one of them. I’m sure the club will bring good players to help us do something good in the Champions League.”
“You won’t find any easy games in this round of the competition. Naft Tehran are a well-organised team with good players, but this is a great opportunity to reach the semi-finals, which would be the furthest Al Ahli have got in their history.”
Click here for the AFC Champions League quarter-final fixtures
Photo: AFP