Omar joins camp as UAE gear up for two friendlies
dubai — Star playmaker Omar Abdulrahman linked up with the UAE National football squad for the first time since his mega switch from Al Ain to Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal.
The 26-year-old, who made the move from the record 13-time Arabian Gulf League champions to the record Saudi Professional League winners last month, joined his teammates in the second camp in Girona, Spain.
Omar, nicknamed ‘Amoory’, had missed the first camp in Salzburg, Austria from August 1 to 19 as he sorted out his club future. The UAE team management had approved his request to skip the camp.
As coach Alberto Zaccheroni ramps up preparations for the AFC Asian Cup to be held on home soil in January next year, the team are set to play their first of two international friendlies on Thursday.
The Whites take on Trinidad and Tobago at the Estadio Palamos Costa Brava Stadium and later meet Laos in the second international friendly on September 11.
Obaid Habita
The ongoing camp comes to an end on September 12.
The 26-man squad trained on Wednesday, with a special session for goalkeepers. Saif Rashid has returned home for medical treatment after tests confirmed he has a back muscle injury. The Sharjah winger was called up by Zaccheroni for both the camps and had impressed during the first camp in Salzburg, Austria.
“The friendly against Trinidad and Tobago will be a real test for the team as the opponents are fastpaced and physically strong. It will be a tough test and the team will learn from the experience,” team manager Obaid Habita said.
“The international friendlies have been chosen very carefully in order to achieve certain goals. We will be playing against different teams, which offers different schools and different styles of football. It will help the team when it comes to tactics and help the players deal with and adapt to different methods of play,” he added.
Habita also said that future camps will be held during Fifa days and will not exceed two weeks,
which is sufficient for the players, especially since they will be participating with their respective clubs in domestic competitions.
The third camp will also be held in Spain, in Barcelona, from October 6 to 16 with two friendlies against Honduras and Venezuela on October 11 and 16 respectively. The fourth and fifth camps will run from November 6 to 20 and December 15 to 31 respectively at home, most likely in Al Ain, with two friendlies scheduled.
The friendly against Trinidad and Tobago will be a real test for the team as the opponents are fast-paced and physically strong