They finished the league by beating Ajman and got 57 points
Mansour bin Mohammed crowns «Knights of Dubai... Brave Heroes»
Mansour bin Mohammed mediates the stars of Shabab Al Ahli «League Champions» in the presence of Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid. Cinematographer: Patrick Castillo
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His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, yesterday crowned Shabab Al Ahli football team with the title of the ADNOC Professional League for the eighth time in its history, in a festive and historic night that was staged at Rashid Stadium in Dubai, which the team has been waiting for seven years before confirming in the current season its right to climb again to the podium.
His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum handed over the league shield to team captain Majid Nasser, in the presence of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and First Vice President of the Football Association and President of the Pro League Nasser Al Junaibi.
The «Alonan» resounded with his famous voice at Rashid Stadium in Dubai, and the voices of the fans were loud with applause and cheers in the stands, and a smile was smiled on the faces of the players and their Belgian coach Leonardo Jardim on the podium, during the lifting of the team captain Majid Nasser shield of the championship, after a ceremony participated in the revival of the artist Hussein Al Jassmi, who sang the heroes of Shabab Al Ahli and carried his song for the celebration entitled: «Dubai Knights ... Brave heroes."
The sky of the stadium was illuminated by bright red fireworks, and red and gold confetti filled the pitch, adding a joyful scene, while the celebrations extended to adorn the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Frame with the colors of the Shabab Al Ahli logo.
The championship shield was inserted onto the pitch carried by two employees of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the official sponsor whose name the league bears, while one of the company's employees had inserted the ball to the pitch before the match and handed it over to the referee Suhail Abdullah, marking the start of the match.
The team's players toured the stands to celebrate with their fans who filled the stands, wearing shawls and some wearing the colors of their country's flag, and taking memorial photos via their mobile phones in order to immortalize the important moments in their sports careers, and wives, children and some relatives of the team's players descended on the pitch and celebrated together the achievement of the title.
The moment of raising the shield represented the official start of the official celebrations of Shabab Al-Ahli, which is expected to last a long time and will have a long period, especially since the title has been a major goal for the team since the beginning of the season, and came as a culmination of the great sacrifices of the team's players and their cohesion in front of the difficult moments they went through.
Shabab Al Ahli achieved an important victory in the last round at the expense of its rival Ajman, and the only goal of the match came by Brazilian player Igor Jesus in the 49th minute with a strong shot from inside the penalty area, and the subsequent attempts did not witness any change in the result to end the match with the victory of the «Knights» with a clean goal, and raise his score to 57 points, while the «volcano» froze at 44 points.
Jardim: Time to celebrate, not to determine my fate with the team
Shabab Al Ahli coach Leonardo Jardim, who led the Knights to the league title in his first season, said that now is the time to enjoy the championship title and not talk about his future with the team.
Jardim explained in a press statement: «Regarding my continuation with the team I need some time, and the club is helping me at the moment. The important thing is to enjoy what has been achieved."
The coach stressed: «After achieving the title, the team is required to maintain it, because the competitors will undoubtedly return stronger, especially since the teams in the standings table until seventh place were competitors for the title, which increased the strength of the competition».
On the difficulties he faced at the beginning of the season, he said: "I think we started a bit difficult, but as a coach I was able to change the approach, and that was not easy for the players."
Youssef Jaber: We did not guarantee the league until after our victory over Bani Yas
Shabab Al Ahli player Youssef Jaber confirmed that the current season was not easy, and that there was no easy match, and the only moment they felt that they won the league was after the victory over Bani Yas in the last round, a result that officially gave the team the league title.
He said in a press statement: «It was a difficult match for sure, and we should have won it. We missed some goals, and our opponent also scored against us, but it's good that we were able to come back and win and decide the title in our favor."
The player expressed his overwhelming joy at achieving the league title with the 'Knights', and said that the crowning of titles comes after a great effort, and they hope that the team in various age stages will continue to achieve titles.
Al Jassmi sings for «Knights of History»
Shabab Al Ahli fans chanted songs with Emirati artist Hussain Al Jassmi, who performed the coronation ceremony of the Dubai Knights in the ADNOC Professional Football League on a night when everything was exceptional, from the huge crowd that filled the stands of Rashid Stadium to the special songs performed by Al Jassmi and inflamed the enthusiasm of the fans, including "Knights of History" and "The Eighth Miracle of Dubai".
The fans received Al Jassmi the moment he entered the pitch by lighting their mobile phones and warm applause, and participated in completing some song breaks, and danced to the tunes, and the ceremony came at the initiative of the Professional League Committee in order to bring out the coronation ceremony in the best way.