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He is conspicuous if you watch any of United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s recent matches. He is that guy with the Afro running around poking in delicate through balls; you can see his magnificent left foot conspiring with his relatively weaker, but no less brilliant, right to embarrass some and mesmerise others. His name is Omar Abdulrahman, UAE’s newest footballing talent.
Taking into account his humble origins, Omar has seen quite a meteoric rise. Born into a Yemeni migrant family in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he took to the field at a very young age but his accession to the ranks of Saudi giants Al-Hilal was put on hold when Omar was the only one in his family to be offered citizenship. He bluntly rejected their advances. His family was important. But if anybody thought that Omar lost a major opportunity, they were all proved wrong when UAE club Al Ain came calling. Al Ain offered his whole family citizenship; it was an offer Omar couldn’t refuse.
Today, Omar and his two brothers all play for Al-Ain. Although he is the youngest, Omar is the one who has attracted all the attention. From the time he first got into Al-Ain, he has been doing just that.
After scintillating performances in the Al-Ain youth teams, senior team coach Winfried Schäfer fast-tracked his entry to the first team. There he was, a seventeen-year-old immigrant, waiting in the wings to take the country by storm. Take by storm he did – and it was only a matter of time before his name started to be uttered outside the Emirates too.
Omar celebrates after scoring in the AFC Champions League
Within months of his arrival at the Emirates, he had also broken into the under-20 national team. As luck would have it, his arrival in the country coincided with the emergence of the ‘Golden Generation’ of Emirati football. He was able to blend in well with the likes of Ahmed Khalil, Hamdan al-Kamali, Ali Mabkhout and Amer Abdulrahman, who formed the nucleus of this generation. After sweeping past their opponents to win the AFC under-19 Championship in 2008, and then the Under-23 Gulf Cup, the Golden Generation headed to the World Youth Championship in Egypt; however, Omar wasn’t with them. A knee injury meant that he was out of the season after playing just a couple of games. Omar watched from home as his comrades put on a daring display to reach the quarter finals, where a 122nd minute goal by Costa Rica’s Marco Urena sent them out. Despite that setback, the Golden Generation still had many other plans and Omar was very much a part of those plans. Returning from the injury, Omar was back at his best again. Next up was the Asian Games football tournament in Guangzhou, China. Once again, UAE beat the odds to reach the final, where a stronger Japanese team pipped them to the title.
At that particular point, Omar could have looked back at the few years of football he had played with quite a bit of satisfaction. Three titles with his club, two with his national team – it surely wasn’t bad. But for a person who had to work as hard as he could to reach where he was; to move to a new country, to fight an injury that threatened his career before it really kicked off – for such a person, this wasn’t enough. If you watched him play, you would say the same. This wasn’t enough. He had potential and lots of it; he had the potential to reach heights where no player from his region had ever set foot. Anyone could sense it. It felt like he would announce his arrival onto the world stage at any moment now.
That moment came in 2012. ‘Moments’, if I may say so. The UAE national team had qualified for the Olympics for the first time in their history. Mahdi Ali, the mentor of the Golden Generation, took his gifted group of players along to London. Lying before Omar and Co. was the opportunity to play against the likes of Great Britain and Uruguay at Wembley and Old Trafford. This is the stuff that dreams are made of.
The seconds ticked past and finally, it was time. The first match put them up against an Uruguayan side that contained Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani and Sebastian Coates. Enough said. Three names that could scare the living daylights out of any young inexperienced squad. But Omar had other plans.
Omar during the match against Uruguay at London 2012
The Emiratis stepped up and played with such confidence that one would end up wondering if Uruguay were the underdogs. It was fluid, one-touch attacking play on display at Old Trafford and, at times, Uruguay had no answers. At the heart of it all, there was a #15 who ran about with his Afro sticking out conspicuously, playing delicate one-twos and majestic through balls – Omar Abdulrahman. And it was one such majestic through ball that made Omar bask in glory. Moving along the middle of the pitch, he let through an amazing pass which left in its path numerous Uruguayan players; he carefully picked out Ismail Matar’s run. A couple of seconds later, Matar had scored. Could you believe it? UAE had taken the lead against the mighty Uruguay!
Matar may have scored but that goal had Omar’s footprint all over it.
And then, like a house of cards, it all came crashing down. The fairytale was too good to last. Uruguay put the initial shock behind them and replied with two goals of their own. The relative inexperience of UAE contributed to a Uruguayan victory. The match ended with three points for the Celeste, but everyone in the stadium knew that the scoreline didn’t tell the whole story. Even Luis Suarez could tell that. He went up to Omar after the match and swapped shirts with him, giving the little maestro recognition that he truly deserved.
Omar charges on against Great Britain
Next up for UAE were hosts Great Britain. Once again, they could have been intimidated, they didn’t let that happen. Even when Giggs gave GB the lead, Omar and Co. stayed upbeat. They gave the Brits a mighty scare, scoring the equaliser and then being on the front foot on various occasions throughout. Only two late goals by Sinclair and Sturridge saved Team GB. One more loss; one more setback. UAE was out. But even when you lose, you can lose with dignity and that’s how UAE lost at the Olympics. By putting up brave fights against more illustrious opponents, and by entertaining their audiences, UAE lost with their dignity well and truly intact. Again, when you looked at the UAE team, one name prominently stuck out and that was Omar Abdulrahman. If swapping shirts with Luis Suarez was big, then what about Ryan Giggs coming to the UAE dressing room and personally giving his shirt to Omar? I’m lost for words. A draw against Senegal followed for the UAE, and then they flew back home with their heads held high and Omar carrying two priceless shirts.
In just a couple of matches, Omar had attracted attention everywhere. His opponents singled him out for special mention. Manchester City and Team GB defender Micah Richards said : “The number 15 is a very good player who plays beautiful football. He’ll be one of those players we should keep an eye on in the future.” Journalists who witnessed his performance spoke of his talent. Omar was living in the moment. Just as the Olympics got over, UAE-owned Manchester City invited him for a trial. Omar travelled but to Manchester and impressed just as expected, but the move didn’t work out. Despite not signing, his performance made Yaya Toure liken him to David Silva. “I was a big fan of Omar Abdulrahman at the period he spent with us in City. I was very disappointed in him not signing with us,” Toure said.
Omar celebrates with his teammates after winning the 21st Gulf Cup
Though he didn’t sign for the blue half of Manchester, attention continued to centre on Omar. When he arrived in Bahrain for the Gulf Cup, he was expected to be the star and he fulfilled all the expectations, courtesy of a wondrous performance that included among others a beautiful free-kick, a brilliant left-foot pass, and not to mention the virtuoso goal in the final that reminded some of a certain Diego Armando Maradona. Winning the Cup and being selected as the best player added to his burgeoning reputation. More European clubs started sniffing around. It appeared Roberto Mancini hadn’t had enough of him. And then, current Hamburg sporting director Frank Arnesen, the man who unearthed Ronaldo, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Arjen Robben said : “He is a good dribbler with fine technique, good ball control with good forward vision and passing. If he keeps his feet on the ground and keeps working at his game, he has a bright future ahead of him.” Arnesen’s Hamburg and Sporting Lisbon have reportedly joined City in pursuing Omar. Sky Sports named him a “great prospect”, and he was placed first in ESPN’s list of best Asian players of 2012.
Amidst all this talk, Omar is enjoying his chocolates, hanging out with his friends and putting his feet firmly on the ground. He says he admires Barcelona and his favourite players are Andres Iniesta and Zinedine Zidane. And no wonder. His brilliant vision reminds one of Iniesta, while his control and balance conjure images of Zizou in his prime. He is smiling, he is happy and he is only 21.
Watch the highlights of his performances at the Gulf Cup:
