Al Jazira do the double as Ali Mabkhout and Mirko Vucinic win AGL Player of the Year awards

Ali Mabkhout and Mirko Vucinic ensured a double win for Al Jazira on Monday night when the strike pair were crowned the Arabian Gulf League’s Emirati and Foreign Players of the Year at the annual ceremony at the St.Regis Hotel.

Ali Mabkhout, right, is presented with the Emirati Player of the Year award at the Arabian Gulf League Awards ceremony. Delores Johnson / The National
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Ali Mabkhout and Mirko Vucinic ensured a double win for Al Jazira on Monday night when the strike pair were crowned the Arabian Gulf League’s Emirati and Foreign Players of the Year at the annual ceremony at the St. Regis Hotel.

The award capped a remarkable season for Mabkhout, 24, the winner of the Golden Boot at both the Gulf Cup in Saudi Arabia last November and the Asian Cup in Australia in January.

Mabkhout was the leading Emirati scorer with 16 goals as Jazira finished runners-up behind Al Ain in the AGL.

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“I’m happy with the personal awards, but all these count for nothing if the team doesn’t win,” Mabkhout said.

“I wouldn’t have won this award if not for my teammates. The players around me do all the hard work and whatever I have achieved is because of the help from my teammates. So I thank all of them for this award.”

Mabkhout edged out the challenges of Mohanad Salem Al Enazi, the Al Ain centre-back, and last year’s winner of the award, Al Ahli forward Ismail Al Hammadi.

Mabkhout’s Jazira strike partner Vucinic was crowned Foreign Player of the Year after a stunning debut season. The former Juventus forward proved his class by topping the AGL scoring table with 25 goals.

“I am just happy for this achievement. Again it was a team effort and I was fortunate to score all those goals with the help of my teammates,” Vucinic said.

Vucinic won the award ahead of Miroslav Stoch, Al Ain’s Slovakian forward, and Fabio de Lima, Al Wasl’s Brazilian forward.

Zlatko Dalic, the Al Ain coach, was named the Coach of the Year after leading his club to an emphatic championship triumph.

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