Omar Al Raisi explains the third and final part of his rankings for the most influential and talented UAE players
How to assemble a list of the country’s 25 greatest footballers? From personal observation, over the past two decades. To evaluate those who played before the middle 1990s, newspaper reports and videotape were helpful, as well as conversations with friends, relatives and fans who followed UAE football in the past, and still do. The main factor in choosing these 25 was how “influential” each player was to club and country, while also taking into account raw talent and individual achievements.
[ UAE’s top 25 greatest football players ranked: Part 1 ]
[ UAE’s top 25 greatest football players ranked: Part 2 ]
8 Ahmed Eissa
He led out the UAE side for the country’s first international game, in March 1972. It was the beginning of something special. That team finished third in their first Gulf Cup of Nations appearance, a great achievement and source of pride for a team of semi-professionals. Ahmed Eissa’s talent and leadership helped create a football culture that immediately took root in the four-month-old country. He joined Al Wahda of Dubai in 1969 and was instrumental in helping the club merge with Al Shabab (each unrelated to their current namesakes) to form the Al Ahli club. A true great and pioneer of Emirati football.
7 Salem Suhail
Salem Suhail was one of the leading forces of UAE’s first generation of footballers. He is the man who scored the country’s first goal, against Qatar in 1972. He was one of the greatest players to come out of the country in an era before the UAE’s economic boom. Not much of Salem is documented, but he was described as a quick and skilful centre-forward with a venomous shot. He played his club football for Al Nasr, when the club was a national powerhouse. His talent marked him as a player ahead of his time, an extraordinary footballer when the level of football in the country was still semi-pro.
6 Muhsin Musabah
When a team’s performances decline, players look to the last line of defence to save them and Musabah, the country’s finest goalkeeper, often did just that. He was called “The Flying Emirati” because of his agility and quickness, but his awareness and powers of concentration also helped deliver the national side into safe hands. His world-class performances in Asian qualifying, never missing a match, propelled the national team to the 1990 World Cup, a remarkable achievement for a young and small nation. He was in goal for the three World Cup games at Italia ’90 and was given the task of stopping the likes of Carlos Valderrama, Rudi Voller and Jurgen Klinsmann, a colossal task for any goalkeeper. He also was a key figure in the country’s run to the final of the 1996 Asian Cup. He earned 105 caps and is by far the greatest Emirati goalkeeper.
5 Ali Mabkhout
No Emirati forward has had a two-year span of success to match his. During that time, he scored 28 goals in 42 games for the national team and 53 goals in 119 games for Al Jazira. He tries to model his game on that of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and the similarities between them are obvious. His muscular athleticism and quick feet place him in the ranks of the modern attacker. He is widely recognised as one of the two best Emirati footballers of his generation. Winner of the Golden Boot at the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia and 2014 Gulf Cup of Nations in Saudi Arabia, scoring five goals in each tournament. He has no gaps in his game. He was a significant figure in the historic Under 23 Olympics team that went to London 2012, but his best football has come since then, and his goal now is to help take the national team to their second World Cup, Russia 2018.
4 Zuhair Bakheet
Perhaps the best all-round centre-forward to have worn the national shirt, Bakheet could score every type of goal. He was strong, good in the air and deceptively quick but also clever, graceful and capable of swallowing the ground with his distinctive, loping running style. He was the spark for many of the rapier-like counter-attacks that characterised Al Wasl and national-team games from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Bakheet announced himself on the international stage when he won the Golden Boot at the 1988 Gulf Cup of Nations with six goals. He played in five Gulf Cups, three Asian Cups and spearheaded the country’s attack at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. He represented the UAE 112 times, scoring 27 goals.
3 Ismail Matar
He is not especially quick. He is not a great header of the ball. He is not particularly strong in the tackle. But he is smooth, cool, assured and immaculate. He was the hero of the 2007 Gulf Cup of Nations, scoring five times, including the winner in the semi-final versus Saudi Arabia and the final against Oman, a victory that gave the country a first international trophy. He was named player of the tournament. He was one of the UAE’s three “over-age” players at the 2012 London Olympics and served as captain. He scored the country’s first Olympic goal, against Uruguay at Old Trafford, and added a second, against Senegal, which produced the team’s first point. He won the Golden Ball at the 2003 Fifa World Youth Championships, a tournament that included Andres Iniesta, the Barcelona and Spain midfielder. He also won the 2008 Best Asian Footballer award. Since then, he has won three league titles and two Super Cups, with Al Wahda, and also the 2013 Gulf Cup of Nations. He has represented the national team 112 times, scoring 34 goals.
2 Omar Abdulrahman
Some players are blessed with something supernatural. Call it charisma, call it magnetism, but whatever it is the little midfielder with the big hair has it. He is a genius with the ball at his feet, the ultimate Emirati showman. His ability to run with the ball and change direction at speed, his balletic movement, his scoring instinct are on an elite level. In pure footballing terms, the man often known as “Amoury” is easily the most talented Emirati footballer. His eye-catching performances at the London 2012 Olympics led to praise from Ryan Giggs and prompted Luis Suarez to trade shirts with him. In 2013, he led the UAE to a Gulf Cup of Nations triumph. That summer, he was invited for a two-week trial at Manchester City and offered a four-year contact, but UK work-permit issues derailed the deal. He reportedly turned down loan offers from Spanish club Malaga and Portuguese side Benfica. Many believe that if any current Emirati player can make it in a European league, it is Amoury. He is still only 24 and stands a fine chance of being remembered as the greatest UAE player. If he can lead the current team to the 2018 World Cup, his legend would be sealed.
1 Adnan Al Talyani
Body: He was a master of mind games, a psychic, a hypnotist. He was impossible. Acknowledged by every football pundit of his era as the catalyst behind the country’s one trip to the World Cup, in 1990. Few players were able to bend a game to their will as consistently and successfully as Al Talyani, who remains a source of fascination 16 years after his retirement. He was voted the third-best player in Asia in 1989. He scored 52 international goals in 161 games, making him the most prolific scorer in UAE history. He played in the Gulf Cup of Nations six times and in three Asian Cups. He scored 129 goals in 232 games for Al Shabab. If ever a captain led by example it was Al Talyani. He had the complete respect of every teammate he played alongside. He is the country’s greatest footballer.
