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A former Newcastle defender has been appointed coach of new UAE franchise Al Qabila FC following their success in Dubai’s second division.
Al Qabila has gone viral on social media after it began a project to ‘build a football club in 365 days’ after being founded by Soheil Varahram, who will be a player in the team, and creative director Daniyal Sheikh.
The team will begin its first campaign in the UAE Pro League next season after building the club from scratch and having been searching for a coach.
Varahram posted a video on his TikTok page telling fans that they would be introducing their new head coach as he stood in front of a black van in the desert.
He then video calls Sheikh, who asks, ‘Bro, do you think the fans are ready for this?’
A former Newcastle defender has been named coach of new UAE team Al Qabila in an introduction video on social media.
Footage shows the club’s founder waiting for a black van heading towards them in the desert.
Former defender Steven Taylor is then filmed getting out of the van and shaking his hand.
Varahram tells him: “This coach has a next-level mentality,” before his colleague responds: “His experience is unmatched.” Varahram then says that the coach in question has been at “the highest level of football…what more could you ask for?”
He is then filmed getting out of the van before another pulls up towards him. Shortly after, a video begins playing featuring Steven Taylor’s highlights from his days at Newcastle, including a goal celebration.
Former defender Taylor is then seen exiting the van in an all-black suit before shaking hands with Varahram, who introduces him as a “legend” and “the perfect person” for the club. Taylor tells fans: ‘Guys, it’s great to be part of the tribe. Let’s take control.’
Taylor’s stock is high in Dubai after leading Gulf United to back-to-back promotions to the country’s second tier.
Taylor played 268 times for youth club Newcastle United across 13 seasons.
The 38-year-old started at Gulf United in 2022, his first managerial role, and has since been replaced by former Swansea City left-back Neil Taylor.
Steven Taylor began his career at youth club Newcastle and featured for 13 seasons, making 268 appearances in total, scoring 15 goals and suffering the pain of relegation in 2008-09 before leading them to immediate promotion.
Taylor left Newcastle in 2016 and headed to the United States to join Portland Timbers in the MLS.
After a year in the US, he returned to the UK to play for Ipswich Town for one season, but only featured three times for the Tractor Boys and then signed for Peterborough United. He played 51 times there before traveling to Australia to join Wellington Phoenix.
Spells with Indian Super League side Odisha followed before returning to Phoenix for one final season before announcing his retirement in 2021.