If 2016 has been characterised by shock votes and surprise winners, then Omar Abdulrahman’s ascension to Asian player of the year would run counter to that.
The Al Ain and UAE midfielder is the favourite for the continent's premier individual prize, up against China's Wu Lei and Iraq's Hammadi Ahmed, to be determined on Thursday night when the Asian Football Confederation Awards descend upon Emirates Palace. Typically, Abdulrahman represents the star attraction.
It pretty much encapsulates his year: the main man as Al Ain bounded into the Asian Champions League final, the UAE’s focal point as they entered the third and final stage of qualification for the 2018 World Cup. At age 25, he carries the hopes of both club and country.
For the most part, he has bore well the burden. In 14 Champions League appearances, Abdulrahman was voted man of the match eight times. During that spell, he scored only three times, and that remains one of his weaknesses, but goals have never been the barometer with which to measure a playmaker of extraordinary talent. Abdulrahman’s contribution is much more comprehensive. There is much more to consider in quantifying his value than simply finding the net or supplying others to do so. So often for “Al Ain 2016”, he proved one for the grand occasion.
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In all, Abdulrahman registered seven assists as Al Ain moved close to a second Champions League crown. He is their chief creator, their principal threat, destructing from deep. He excelled especially throughout the knockout stages: two assists in the second leg of the last-16 clash against Zobahan in Iran, when his side required a spark; two more in the first leg of the semi-final against El Jaish, sandwiched either side of his own sumptuous free-kick that nestled in the Qatari net.
Abdulrahman’s performance that night was so impressive that it prompted Sabri Lamouchi, the El Jaish manager, to remark: “Al Ain have, for me, absolutely the best player in Asia. He is an unbelievable player. I love him a lot, but it’s not only me. All coaches want a player like him. Because he fights with heart, and he is also a very nice playmaker with an amazing left foot.”
In the return fixture in Doha, Abdulrahman displayed both the heart and the reliable left foot, rallying his teammates pitchside moments before kick-off and then stroking home the crucial opener. He had been tasked with playing in an unfamiliar ‘false nine’ position. Nevertheless, Al Ain’s leader very much led from the front.
If the final ultimately disappointed, and Abdulrahman fell short of his usual level despite assisting Danilo Asprilla for the opener in the first leg against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, then it should not detract from his worthiness for Asian player of the year. That is not to disparage the work of Wu or Ahmed, particularly the latter, a dependable striker who fired Al Quwa Al Jawiya to AFC Cup success, but for the most part Abdulrahman reigned supreme on the pre-eminent stage of the continent’s club football.
There are a certain criteria for Player of the Year, weighted heavily by man-of-the-match awards, but Abdulrahman’s propensity to continually light up matches, to constantly entertain supporters, to often cause opposition managers to wax lyrical about his undeniable talent, should be taken into consideration, too.
Abdulrahman deserves the crown, merits following international teammate Ahmed Khalil as Asian’s finest player of the preceding 12 months. Abdulrahman stood on the stage last year in New Delhi and watched as his companion and colleague created history for the UAE.
A second successive Emirati winner seems obvious.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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