Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Dubai: Everton Ribeiro’s impressive cameo in Al Ahli’s 2-0 win over Sharjah on Wednesday gave a tantalising indicator that he is one of the players to watch during the forthcoming AFC Champions League, with the Brazilian superstar scoring on his debut for the UAE champions.
The 25-year-old attacking midfielder, pictured celebrating Cruizero’s 2014 Brazilian league win, came on for Habib Fardan just before the hour mark and opened his goal-scoring account in the 73rd minute when he tapped home a cross from Luis Jimenez to break the deadlock before Jimenez’s fellow Chilean, Carlos Munoz, sealed the 2-0 on the stroke of full time.
“[Everton] Ribeiro came and closed the game for us,” said Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu, who was returning to domestic duty following his loan secondment to the Saudi Arabia national team for their 2015 AFC Asian Cup campaign.
“He has a lot of quality and is a big player. He has trained only two times with us and is not in the best shape physically, but he has shown his quality.”
A fully match-fit Everton Ribeiro, who revealed that he turned down offers from Manchester United, AC Milan and Monaco because of his desire to be part of Al Ahli’s “project to become the top club in Asia and win the Asian Champions League,” will be expected to feature prominently when they UAE champions begin their 2015 ACL Group D campaign on February 25, when they entertain the Playoff 1 (West Zone) winners, which will be determined on February 17.
Photo: AFP