Mahdi Ali will let you know what Mahdi Ali wants you to know. That is the way things have always been.
For those familiar with the UAE coach’s workings, getting information out of him can be a tricky business. He can be extremely reticent, of that there is little doubt.
He is obsessed with football, with any detail that will help his team gain the slightest advantage. How the media and, by extension, the public perceive him is of lesser importance to him.
Long news conferences can come and go before you realise you have been played. So many questions, so few answers.
But something seems to have changed in the 50 year old Emirati manager since he has landed in Australia.
Here is a different Mahdi Ali – relaxed, confident, engaging, smiling. Much has been made of the fact that he, unique among managers in this tournament, has served as his own translator.
He translates from Arabic to English and back again, and he provides the same service for UAE players who have accompanied him to the press room, impressing and charming many reporters.
His virtuosity in the interview room suggests a man at ease with the job he is doing, almost happy to let his guard down.
It is enough to make you ask: where has the real, cautious Mahdi Ali gone?
Football coaches rarely take anything for granted. Certainly, Mahdi Ali does not. But when it was suggested to him that he had seemed very relaxed and confident in the build-up to the 4-1 win against Gulf Cup of Nations champions Qatar, his response was telling.
“Usually, a coach is optimistic when he sees the players doing their best, how disciplined they are, how much effort they are putting in their training, doing what I want,” he said.
“That is one of the main reasons I was confident for this game, I was sure they will play well and do their best.”
It was remarkable declaration of faith in his squad at a time when the pressure could not be higher.
Since taking over the job, Mahdi Ali has maintained that finishing in the top four of this Asian Cup is his target. Some may have questioned whether that was realistic, in the aftermath of the recent Gulf Cup of Nations, but you get the feeling now that he never wavered in his belief.
Perhaps he had seen enough in Riyadh, even during the testing times leading up to this competition, to bring on this Zen-like assuredness.
While fans fretted the semi-final loss to Saudi Arabia, the form of Ahmed Khalil, the injuries to Omar Abdulrahman and Ali Kasheif, and the cancelled friendly with Kuwait, Mahdi Ali perhaps knew all along that he had his squad exactly were he wanted them to be.
Never was his relaxed side clearer than after the victory over Qatar on Sunday.
When man of the match Khalil had answered his two-question quota, he was given the green light to leave the news conference. With a sheepish smile, the quiet forward decided to stay.
“He’s been with me since he was eight. He can stay longer,” said a smiling, fatherly Mahdi Ali.
It was a rare, illuminating window into how close he is to his players.
Perhaps the Mahdi Ali we know is not the real Mahdi Ali, after all; but we will never know. Mahdi Ali will let you know what he wants you to know.
akhaled@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE
