Shabab Al Ahli Dubai coach Cosmin Olaroiu has said that he hasn't received any offer to take over as the coach of UAE football team but revealed that there was another offer from another National team on the table.
The Romanian, the most successful coach in UAE club football, has been mooted as a prime candidate for the second time, following Argentine Edgardo Bauza's departure to coach Saudi Arabia.
Olaroiu, who has won 10 titles with Al Ain and Al Ahli (now rebranded as Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) in six seasons in the UAE, said that he had not received a call from the UAE Football Federation (UAEFA).
"I know nothing about this. I don't know about the UAE National team. There is another National team but I don't know if the club will leave me. I'm not thinking about it this moment. I'm here to do a job for this club," said Olaroiu.
Olaroiu dispelled the notions by saying: "If I wasn't good three months before, how am I good now?"
Olaroiu was also in the running and was one of the favourites when Mahdi Ali resigned from his post during the UAE's World Cup qualifying campaign.
Reports had then said that the remuneration was proving to be a stumbling block. And after looking at other candidates including Colombia's Reinaldo Rueda, the UAEFA opted for former Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza.
Bauza was handed a two-year contract that would have taken him until the end of the AFC Asian Cup in 2019 on home soil.
But following a request from the Saudi Arabian Football Federation for Bauza's services, the UAEFA agreed to let the Argentine go. The UAEFA's Committee of Teams and Technical Affairs will meet this week to select a new coach.
Meanwhile, Olaroiu said that it was vital to start the Arabian Gulf League with a victory. Shabab Al Ahli Dubai rallied from a goal down to defeat Hatta 4-1 at the Rashid Stadium on Saturday night.
"These are very important three points to the start of the season and it gives us confidence for the next game," said Olaroiu.
"We start the game a bit relaxed and we conceded a goal. This created a lot of pressure and confusion. We change the way we played, change the system, the attitude in the game and we started to dominate, started to create chances and we improved.
"Of course, important win, important three points, considering the problems that we have, and we hope to find the solution to the way we play. We have a strong team and it was a positive result and a lot of positives from the first game," added the 48-year-old.
By James Jose
