{"id":2638,"date":"2016-12-22T15:46:17","date_gmt":"2016-12-22T20:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=2638"},"modified":"2016-12-22T15:46:17","modified_gmt":"2016-12-22T20:46:17","slug":"omar-abdulrahman-crown-prince-asia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2016\/12\/22\/omar-abdulrahman-crown-prince-asia\/","title":{"rendered":"Omar Abdulrahman: The Crown Prince of Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Old Trafford<\/strong> has the aura to bring out the best in a footballer. The stadium has seen the most celebrated names in the sport grace its pitch, whether for its tenants Manchester United<\/strong> or any other visiting side.<\/p>\n

One such occasion was in the summer of 2012 at the Olympic Games<\/strong>, which were held in\u00a0London<\/strong> that year. The United Arab Emirates<\/strong> were playing South American<\/strong> giants and two-time World Cup<\/strong> winners Uruguay<\/strong> that afternoon.<\/p>\n

Omar Abdulrahman: The Crown Prince of Asia<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The pitch had some star quality running around it, with names like Edinson Cavani<\/strong> and Luis Suarez.<\/strong> Suarez represented Liverpool<\/strong> at the time and was expectedly jeered at every touch.\u00a0A budding Gast\u00f3n Ram\u00edrez<\/strong> displayed his immense potential, amongst so many others.<\/p>\n

Uruguay sealed a narrow 2-1 win that day, but it wasn\u2019t any of their glorified names stealing the headlines, it was one from the men wearing red \u2013 a young man\u00a0named Omar Abdulrahman. <\/strong>The youngster astonished the staring crowd and, unlike Su\u00e1rez, was cheered at every touch towards the end of the match.<\/p>\n

He provided a stunning assist that afternoon. From around the centre-circle, he whipped a perfect ball from the outside of his deadly left boot<\/a> to give his captain Ismail Matar<\/strong>, arguably the country\u2019s greatest-ever player, the ball and slotted away the goal.<\/p>\n

Abdulrahman\u00a0also beautifully carved several other chances, but couldn\u2019t help his country seal a historic win. His day did get better, however. The pantomime villain on the day, Luis Su\u00e1rez, appreciated Abdulrahman\u2019s talents and offered to exchange shirts with the man himself at the end of the game.<\/p>\n

His tournament got even better, in the UAE\u2019s second group game against hosts Great Britain<\/strong> at Wembley Stadium<\/strong>. Abdulrahman put on another fine showing in a 3-1 defeat, earned praise from the likes of defender Micah Richards<\/strong> and this time, had the evergreen Ryan Giggs<\/strong> exchange shirts with him at the end of the encounter.<\/p>\n

“The number 15 (Abdulrahman) is a very good player who plays beautiful football, he\u2019ll be one of those players we should keep an eye on in the future.”\u00a0\u2013 Micah Richards in 2012<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He was the sole shining light in a rare experience for the country that\u2019s more renowned for its availability of supreme structures and laser-fast cars. With a whizzy hairdo and about the same height as Lionel Mess<\/strong>i, the player\u2019s excellent quality and skill<\/a> makes him unmissable on a football pitch. He\u2019s the UAE\u2019s best player of this generation, and he went on to achieve even greater things after the Olympic Games that year.<\/p>\n

Club football<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Abdulrahman represents Al-Ain FC<\/strong> in the United Arab Emirates – the country\u2019s most successful domestic side with 12 Arabian Gulf League<\/strong> titles and\u00a0six President\u2019s Cup<\/strong> honours amongst a stacked trophy cabinet. He\u2019s been with the senior\u00a0team since 2008 and has a brilliant record – 42 goals and 87 assists in 183 appearances and counting.<\/p>\n

While not an esteemed goal-scorer, his playmaking abilities and eye for a pass are in a league of its own and always raises the question \u2013 why hasn\u2019t he represented a club in Europe yet?<\/p>\n

He\u2019s had chances with the best of the best, though. Right after the Olympics, Manchester City<\/strong>, owned by the royalty of\u00a0Abu Dhabi<\/strong>, offered the 21-year-old a trial with the club. While the report was glowing, it\u2019s still unclear whether it was work permit issues or Abdulrahman\u2019s desire to not leave his country that blocked the move.<\/p>\n

Just a year later, there were reports of an imminent loan deal between Al-Ain and Portuguese<\/strong> giants Benfica<\/strong>, but a move never materialised.<\/p>\n

But while he remains in the Gulf, success continues to follow with him. He\u2019s won a whole host of honours with Al-Ain on the domestic and Asian<\/strong> scene, being part of the club\u2019s league-winning sides in 2012, 2013 and 2015 as well as the cup-winning sides of 2009 and 2014.<\/p>\n

Abdulrahman\u00a0also helped the club reach the AFC Champions League<\/strong>\u00a0final this year \u2013 losing to South Korea<\/strong>\u2019s Jeonbuk Hyundai<\/strong>, but to some consolation, he was voted as the tournament\u2019s most valuable player. That spurred another personal honour and probably the biggest of his career thus far \u2013 the AFC Player of the Year<\/strong>, which he won early in December.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m so proud of him and proud he is the best player in Asia, because he\u2019s my player and part of my team, which means my team was great also. He played very well for the national team, he was my captain and won eight man-of-the-match awards in Asia. A special player, a great player. I\u2019m glad to have him.” \u2013 Al-Ain manager, Zlatko Dali\u0107<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Plus, his accolades and fame in the Middle East<\/strong> and Asia have earned him some fine recognition elsewhere. Abdularahman has earned some large endorsements over the years including the likes of Nike <\/strong>and video gaming giant Konami<\/strong>, who offered him the chance to be alongside Neymar adorning the cover of the world-famous Pro Evolution Soccer<\/strong> game for 2016.<\/p>\n

International excellence<\/strong><\/h3>\n

But perhaps his greatest success comes with the national team. He\u2019s gone from strength to strength following his stellar performances at the Olympics and added a first international trophy to his illustrious list of honours \u2013 the 2013 Gulf Cup of Nations<\/strong>. He was voted as the best player of the tournament following an impressive haul of\u00a0two goals, including one in the final, and\u00a0two assists over the course of\u00a0five tournament games.<\/p>\n

Just two years later, he was the star attraction of a UAE side in its golden generation at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup<\/strong>, the biggest stage in Asian football. It was there that he truly announced himself to the world.\u00a0Strong\u00a0victories in the opening two group stage games culminated with them narrowly losing their third and final encounter against Iran<\/strong>, which meant that the UAE finished as runners-up in the group.<\/p>\n

The result pitched them against defending champions and tournament-favourites Japan<\/strong> in the quarter-finals, where after a tough 120 minutes, it would take penalties to determine the semi-finalists. Omar Abdulrahman would step up to be UAE\u2019s first taker, after Keisuke Honda<\/strong> missed the opening spot-kick. It was there that he stunned the world, with a skill that can only be performed with ice-cold nerves.<\/p>\n

The UAE won 5-4, and progressed to the semi-finals where they lost to hosts and eventual winners Australia<\/strong> by a score of 2-0. They did have some reprieve, however, winning the third-place play-off to seal their best finish of the competition since 1996, where they were runners-up, and Omar Abdulrahman was one of the players of the tournament for his excellent showings.<\/p>\n

He made his way into the Team of the Tournament<\/strong> alongside Son-Heung Min<\/strong> and Tim Cahill<\/strong> amongst many others.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach footballer has a wish to play for one of the big teams in Europe, But I\u2019m still young and I know I must double my efforts to reach my target. There is no specific date for my professional career and I will take it as it comes. I know I will be fully supported by our sheikhs.\u201d \u2013 Omar Abdulrahman<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The tournament was a glimpse of what Abdulrahman could offer and re-escalated European interest, but nearly two years on, he still remains an Al-Ain player. There is no shortage of interest and he\u2019d add great charisma to any side, but the question is when the move would happen.<\/p>\n

Omar Abdulrahman is supremely talented\u00a0and he\u2019s the best Asian footballer in Asia, but will that tag ever see the last two words cut off it?<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n

With a face seemingly lacking confidence, and a walk-up with a sense of nervousness, it looked like Abdulrahman would sky his kick into Row Z at the Stadium Australia<\/strong> in Sydney<\/strong>. But just before he pulled the trigger, he slowed himself down and with a rarely-seen skill, added himself to the pantheon of greats alongside Zinedine<\/strong> Zidane<\/strong> and Andrea<\/strong> Pirlo<\/strong> with the coolest “Panenka”<\/strong> spot-kick you\u2019re likely to see<\/a>. It was a moment the man himself would\u2019ve been proud of\u00a0and showed off everything Abdulrahman is about.<\/p>\n