Omar Abdulrahman was on Wednesday named FourFourTwo magazine's best player in Asia for 2017. Here are some of the extracts from the Al Ain and UAE playmaker's wide-ranging interview.
On why he has not moved to Europe
“There have been offers, some potential opportunities in Europe. But Al Ain really wanted me to stay so the chance to move has not really been there. I am happy here. If I get the chance to play at a professional level in Europe I would be very happy, proud and thankful. As long as it comes, I don’t mind when that moment is. Right now, though, I’m focused on playing with Al Ain and giving them my all, as well as the UAE national team.”
On which of the UAE’s young players stand out
“There have been a lot of good young players this season in the Arabian Gulf League. Four come to mind straight away: Mohammed Jamal and Khalfan Mubarak, Jassim Yaqoub and Ahmed Barman. These guys are seriously good players. At Al Ain, we have lots of other great young players — we have several guys who have the quality to become stars at club and international level. The clubs are trying more and more to develop young talent, which will benefit the league and the national team.”
On proving themselves in Europe
“The European clubs have traditionally looked at African clubs and competitions, aside from maybe Australia, Japan and South Korea. That is because those federations make it much easier to move players to Europe. It’s more difficult here in the Middle East, the countries hold on to their players and don’t want them to move. Hopefully this will change in the future — the younger players need to go to Europe to open doors and get experience playing at a higher level.”
On one wish: Al Ain win Asian Champions League, or UAE make World Cup?
“It would definitely be for the UAE to qualify for the World Cup: it is once every four years and it has been a long time since we made it. The Asian Champions League happens every year so I’d be more confident of Al Ain achieving that. Of course, it is hard [to make World Cup 2018] but nothing is impossible. It would mean so much to me if we made it and I will give everything to achieve this goal.”
On the effect of the Qatar World Cup on Middle Eastern football
“I think it will enable the world to see how great football is here — it will raise the profile. It is improving all the time and I think there can be more World Cups in the Middle East in the future. Many of the nations here have the capabilities; they have the finances and they have the stadiums to host the tournament. This should motivate the players and organisations going forward to bring the World Cup closer to home again.”
* The National staff
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