If Al Ain defeat Al Jazira next week and clinch their 10th Pro League championship, the club will have Omar Abdulrahman to thank.
Not necessarily for what he has contributed in a league season abbreviated by surgery, but for what he did a year ago, when he almost single-handedly kept Al Ain from the ultimate indignity: relegation.
On March 31, 2011, Al Ain were on 11 points from 14 matches and had not won a league game for 208 days. They also were in the drop zone.
Their little midfielder, then only 19 years old, took the big club on his back, scoring six goals in seven matches as Al Ain racked up 14 points to avoid relegation.
In the season's second-last match, he had the first two goals in a 4-1 victory over Jazira, their only defeat in a championship season, and that result secured for Al Ain their place in the top flight. Otherwise, their dominant performance this year might have come in the second division.
Abdulrahman missed the first half of this season after his second knee surgery, but club and country saw what they had been missing when he scored a brilliant goal against Australia and set up the equaliser at Uzbekistan as the UAE Under 23 team qualified for the London Olympics.
The accolades have rolled in again, and more than one observer has suggested he has the quality to play in the world's strongest leagues.
"Omar is a special player and could make the difference in any position he plays," said Cosmin Olaroiu, the Al Ain coach. "His moves without the ball make his team superior.
"His performance now qualifies him to play outside UAE as a professional player."
Liam Weeks, the head of performance analysis at Al Ain, said: "He has the potential to be the best Emirati player ever. … Omar could be the poster boy of Emirati football for the next 10 years. He has the potential to play in the [English] Premier League."
Josef Hickersberger, the coach of league rivals Al Wahda, summed up his skills: "A very creative player, a very skilful player who can create chances. Good vision, a good passer, very skilful; for me, a very good player."
What leaves his fans petrified is his injury history; he already has had two major surgeries on the same knee.
"He has had two big operations, and if he gets injured again, they might not be able to do anything for him," said Kefah Al Kaabi, a television and radio analyst and former UAE footballer.
"He's very talented, and very wise, but his main problem is that his body is not that strong. His brain is much stronger than his knees.
"Everything possible must be done to understand why he is susceptible to injuries and how they can be prevented."
After playing all but one league match in 2010/11, and making his debut with the senior national team, his knee gave out over the summer.
His absence was felt during the abortive World Cup qualifying campaign, and also on the Olympic team, who won only one of their first four group matches without him. He returned, and the team won twice to secure the country's first Olympic football berth.
"His goal against Australia, nobody can score from that angle," Al Kaabi said. "He was unique."
And three weeks later, at Tashkent, his no-look flick on to Ahmed Khalil set up the crucial second goal in a 3-2 victory.
Omar Abdulrahman Ahmed Alraaki Al Amoody was born in 1991 to Yemeni parents in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. His father was a footballer, and he and his elder brothers displayed an early knack for the game. Al Hilal, the big Saudi club, considered signing him, but Al Ain learned of him and signed him, and two of his brothers, Khalid and Mohammed.
Winfried Schaefer gave him his first-team debut with Al Ain in January of 2009. He was 17, and he scored three league goals before his 18th birthday.
He missed most of the following season while convalescing from his first knee surgery, but he was thrust into the playmaker role in 2010/11 when Al Ain were surprised by the late departure of the Chilean midfielder Jorge Valdivia, who moved to the Brazil club Palmeiras.
Al Ain won their first two games, but a rash of injuries shook the club to their foundation. They lost seven and drew five of their next 12 league matches, and the unthinkable became unavoidable; the most decorated UAE club could be relegated. Up stepped Abdulrahman, the smallest (1.73m, 60kg) player in the side, and the season was saved.
Al Ain did not rush him back, but he made his return on January 21. Said Olaroiu, his coach: "We can't keep him away from football. He so badly wants to be in the field."
Mahdi Ali, the coach of the Olympic team, was tempted to use him in the crucial February 5 match against Iraq at Doha, but kept him out. The UAE won 1-0.
However, he was front and centre against Australia in a critical moment because Amer Abdulrahman, the Baniyas midfielder who is not related to Omar, was out. Omar scored the only goal and played 90 minutes in a match seen by 28,734 spectators at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, and he put in another 90 in the cold of Uzbekistan. Abdulrahman retains a reputation for guarding his privacy; approached for comment after the victory in Tashkent, he smiled and pointed at a teammate coming down the hall. "Ask him," he said.
He is known for wildly colourful baseball caps that barely fit over his enormous mop of curly hair.
He is expected to be a key player at the London Olympics, and his flashes of greatness leave his fans wanting more.
"His thought process is quick, he has quick feet and has all the tricks," Weeks said. "I've likened him to [Diego] Maradona because of his low centre of gravity and the range of passes he can play. He's a big talent."
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
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if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
more from Janine di Giovanni
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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Fixtures
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20April%203%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EArsenal%20v%20Luton%20Town%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EManchester%20City%20v%20Aston%20Villa%2C%2011.15pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EThursday%2C%20April%204%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELiverpool%20v%20Sheffield%20United%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
