Mabkhout is Pride of UAE; Olaroiu named best coach
abu dhabi — Abu Dhabi giants Al Jazira’s dominant show in the Arabian Gulf League continued as their star striker Ali Mabkhout bagged the Best Emirati Player and Top Goal Scorer awards at the AGL Awards ceremony on Monday. Also, Khalfan Mubarak was named the Golden Boy of the season.
Jazira’s fairytale run at the awards ceremony was halted by Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu, who bagged the Leader award.
Defending champions Al Ahli had finished third this season behind Al Wasl and just made it to the AFC Champions League. The other big man in contention was Al Jazira coach Henk Ten Cate, who had transformed a mid-table team to championship holders.
Olaroiu, however, told Khaleej Times the award came as no surprise as he had put his best efforts.
“When you work very hard, you expect to win. This is not for me, it’s for my players,” Olaroiu said after winning his third Best Coach award. He had earlier won in 201314 and 2015-16 seasons.
Ten Cate was the favourite to lift the Leader’s Award.
“When I won the League with Al Ain, I didn’t win an award. So, it’s not necessary,” Olaroiu said.
When asked about his future at the club, he said: “I will continue to help this club.”
On the prospects of his team in AFC Champions League, he said: “It will be very difficult but we still have a chance. Al Ahli are a tough side. This is the one target that remains this season.”
Meanwhile, Ali Mabkhout bagged a brace. He had scored a record 33 goals this season. Also, Mabkhout had taken his tally of League goals to 100 from 154 matches.
His tally on the night was of the Golden Shoe for the Arabian Gulf League top goal scorer and the Golden Ball award for Best Emirati Player.
After receiving the award, Mabkhout thanked one and all for support. “I thank Allah for what I have achieved this season. Special mention to my coach Henk ten Cate and the fans who have stood behind me,” Mabkhout said. Highlighting his thoughts on Ten Cate, he said: “I believe my coach deserved to win.”
When asked about striker Ahmed Khalil joining the team from Al Ahli, Mabkhout said: “He is a good player and will add value to team. He will help us and we will make a great team.”
Adding glitz to the ceremony were three legends of Arab football — Egyptian star and former African Player of The Year ‘Bibo’ Mahmoud El Khatib, Saudi Arabian legend Majed Abdullah and Emirati star Fahd Khamis.
Al Jazira’s little star Khalfan Mubarak won the Golden Boy award for the best promising player of the season.
It was Fahd Khamis, who picked the Golden Glove award for the best goalkeeper.
The award for the Best Foreign Player went to Al Wasl’s Fabio De Lima, who had scored 25 goals and was picked over Al Ahli’s Makhete Diop (21 goals).
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com