THE UAE’S FINEST

This achievement is a national achievement. This award is for the UAE national team and Al Ain

It was a stellar year for UAE sport, especially UAE football, with Omar Abdulrahman finally getting the due credit he deserves. Dubbed the ‘Arabian Messi’ for his striking similarity, in terms of the style of play, to his more illustrious counterpart at FC Barcelona, Omar was adjudged the AFC Player of the Year after his exploits for both club and country.

Omar, nicknamed ‘Amoory,’ by both Al Ain and UAE fans, helped the country finish third in the AFC Asian Cup in Australia in January.

Omar had four assists, the most and the joint best along with Australia’s Massimo Luongo. And rightfully so, the 25-year-old was also named in the Team of the Tournament.

And it was a double of sorts for the UAE as his teammate Ali Ahmed Mabkhout won the Golden Boot. Mabkhout, the Al Jazira frontman, plundered five goals in the competition and also scored the fastest goal in the tournament — in 14 seconds in the group fixture against Bahrain. Meanwhile, Omar made 12 appearances for the UAE in

Omar Abdulrahman

World Cup qualification, scored three and had a whopping nine assists. Omar also shone for his beloved club Al Ain, guiding them to the AFC Champions League final. He played 14 games and scored three and had six assists. But the disappointment of not taking Al Ain past the final hurdle still rankles for Omar.

Domestically, the ever improving Arabian Gulf League saw Al Ahli wresting it back from perennial title contenders Al Ain. In what was yet another race between the Dubai club and the Abu Dhabi club, coach Cosmin Olaroiu’s Red Knights laid their hands on a seventh League crown.

But Al Ain couldn’t afford to be downbeat for too long as they went on to reach a third AFC Champions League final in 11 appearances in the competition.

The Boss, who were the inaugural winners in 2003, gave it their absolute best but couldn’t get the job done against South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Al Ain, runners-up in 2005, had also reached the semifinals in 2014, under coach Zlatko Dalic.

Meanwhile, UAE’s World Cup dream rumbles along after a blip under coach Mahdi Ali, who has moulded this generation of players. A chastening 3-0 defeat to Saudi Arabia had put them off track on the road to Russia but a 2-0 win over Iraq, keeps their hopes alive.

Meanwhile, Marwan bin Ghalita was elected the UAE Football Association President after he defeated incumbent Yousuf Al Serkal by 19-15 votes.

Elsewhere, at the Olympics in Rio, 18-year-old swimmer Nada Al Bedwawi was the flag bearer for the UAE. And Sergiu Toma made the country proud by winning the bronze in judo. Toma defeated Italy’s Matteo Marconcini by Ippon in the -81kg weight class to become only the second Emirati to win a medal at an Olympics.

Meanwhile, the country’s Paralympians were on song, winning seven medals in Rio. And it was a massive improvement on the four medals that they had won at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The UAE squad consisted of 18 members and Noura Al Ketbi and Sara Al Senaani became the first Emirati women to win medals. Noura won the silver, while Sara took the bronze in the shot put event.

Shooter Abdullah Sultan Al Aryani won three silver medals in various categories, while veteran Mohammed Khamis Khalaf won the UAE’s second gold at the Paralympics. Khalaf won the medal in powerlifting to add to his collection of gold at the 2004 Games and silver at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

And I was indeed a proud moment as the UAE National Anthem Ishy Bilady played out Rio.

I am confident because if in the past the Olympic medal was a big, big dream, now that it is here, there is more confidence in my abilities nd it looks a possibility now to win gold medal Sergiu Toma, UAE judoka

I cannot express my feelings for winning another gold. For me, my age is not important. It is the experience that makes the difference and, after this victory, I feel younger Khamis Khalaf, UAE weightlifter

It is always too early to speak about who will qualify from the group. We have to wait until the final rounds. The teams will cross each other until the end Mahdi Ali, UAE fooball coach

We cannot stop playing football, we cannot stop training. We must come back. A big experience for us — a bad experience — but it’s football Zlatko Dalic, Al Ain coach

Photo by Ryan Lim arabian messi: and Al Ain playmaker Omar Abdulrahman was named the AFC Asian Player of the Year. He was also adjudged the GCC Player of the Year at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai. He has enjoyed a stellar 2016 individually, playing an importatnt...

THe cHampions: Al Ahli is one of the most successful clubs in the UAE and the current Arabian Gulf super Cup titles and two UAE League Cup titles, earning a total of 21 domestic titles, making them the se

KT Photo True professional: Mahdi Ali is a former Emirati footballer and current UAE manager. Ali has had unprecedented success in leading what has been dubbed the “golden generation” of Emirati players. —

KT photo rigHT cHoice: Marwan Ahmad bin Ghalita is the new president of the UAE Football Association and has vowed to take the game to new heights in the country. —

born winner: Sergiu Toma made the UAE proud by winning the bronze in judo in the -81kg weight class at the Rio Olympics. Toma became only the second Emirati to win a medal at an Olympics to join Shaikh Ahmed bin Hasher, who won a gold in Athens in...

KT photo f League champions. Al Ahli have won seven league titles, a joint-record eight UAE’s President Cup titles, four UAE econd most successful football team in UAE. —

AFP file keeping THe flag flying: UAE’s flagbearer swimmer Nada Albedwawi leads the delegation during the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. She competed in the women’s 50 metre freestyle event. —

Reuters file making THe Uae proUd: Athletes from the UAE took part in the opening ceremony of Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The UAE squad, which consisted of 18 members, won seven medals. —

KT photo mosT soUgHT-afTer: Al Ahli coach Olaroui Cosmin is considered one of the greatest managers in the Arabian Peninsula, having led many clubs to titles. —