How they qualified: Winners - UAE Pro League and President's Cup 2011
Established 1974
Home stadium Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium (41,951)
Website www.jc.ae
Club Honours
UAE league champions 1 - 2011
President's Cup winners 1 - 2011
Emirates Cup winners 1 - 2010
UAE Federation Cup winners 1 - 2007
Previous ACL appearances
2009 - Group stage
2010 - Group stage
2011 - Group stage
After being the United Arab Emirates league's perennial bridesmaids for many years, Al Jazira finally came good in 2011.
The Abu Dhabi side had finished no lower than third since 2005 and were runners-up for three consecutive years from 2008 to 2010 before they finally ended their long wait for a first league championship last year. And they capped their memorable campaign with their first President's Cup victory after they mauled city rivals Al Wahda 4-0 in the final.
Having sorted out their domestic frustrations, Al Jazira will now look to improve on their dreadful record on the continental stage when they play in the AFC Champions League for the fourth consecutive year.
They have managed only one win in their previous three appearances in the competition with their low point coming last year when they finished dead last in their group with only one point from six games.
Coach Abel Braga was never able to solve the AFC Champions League during his three seasons at Al Jazira and with the Brazilian leaving at the end of the last campaign, former Belgian Franky Vercauteren will now try his hand at improving the club's lot on the continental stage.
Expectations
Vercauteren's team is little changed from the one coached by Braga last season but they are no longer the dominant force that captured the domestic double under the Brazilian and they currently trail Al Ain and Al Nasr in the league. However with the club appearing in the AFC Champions League for a fourth straight year, many of their players should now be experienced enough to handle themselves against continental opponents so an improvement in results is to be expected.
Coach
Franky Vercauteren
A former Belgium international winger, Franky Vercauteren played in the side that reached the semi-finals of the 1986 World Cup before enjoying much success as a coach in his homeland. The 55-year-old led Anderlecht to back-to-back Belgian league title in 2006 and 2007 and had a brief spell as caretaker coach of the national team before leading Genk to the league title in 2011. He was appointed by Al Jazira last August.
Did you know?
Former FIFA World Player of the Year George Weah rounded out his playing career at Al Jazira. The Liberian striker, who won the award in 1995 when he played for AC Milan, joined the Abu Dhabi club in 2001 and spent two seasons there before he retired from club football.
Key Player
Ricardo Oliveira
Al Jazira splashed out a reported US$14 million to sign Ricardo Oliveira in 2009, a heavy investment that paid dividends last season when the Brazilian striker netted 15 goals to help the Abu Dhabi club to win the domestic double. While Al Jazira have not dominated the league in the same fashion this season, the 31-year-old remains in prolific form and is currently the league's leading scorer.