Omar Abdulrahman, right, and Mohaned Salem, left, pose with their bronze medals from the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia. Dean Lewins / EPA / January 30, 2015
Omar Abdulrahman, right, and Mohaned Salem, left, pose with their bronze medals from the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia. Dean Lewins / EPA / January 30, 2015
Omar Abdulrahman, right, and Mohaned Salem, left, pose with their bronze medals from the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia. Dean Lewins / EPA / January 30, 2015
Omar Abdulrahman, right, and Mohaned Salem, left, pose with their bronze medals from the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia. Dean Lewins / EPA / January 30, 2015

Omar Abdulrahman, UAE and superb Australian setting provided unforgettable Asian Cup


  • English
  • Arabic

From Melbourne to Sydney, the 2015 AFC Asian Cup was quite a ride.

Wonderful organisation, welcoming locals, great football. And, at first, rain. Unrelenting rain.

“Welcome to Melbourne”, an Australian friend sniggered as we landed for the opening night. “Where you experience four seasons in one day.”

There was no Asian Cup fever, at first, but Australia’s success turned many of the cynics into football fans by the end.

For those of us following Mahdi Ali's UAE team, it would prove a journey beyond expectations.

On the pitch, the team gave their supporters some marvellous memories. Majed Naser’s redemption. Mohaned Salem’s leadership. Ali Mabkhout’s goals. And pretty much everything Omar Abdulrahman did.

The behind-the-scenes moments I witnessed will live long in my memory.

From Day 1, Mahdi Ali, who would impress throughout with his tactical skills, charmed the continent’s media with his engaging press conferences and skill at translating Arabic into English and vice versa.

Canberra was initially quiet, making us wonder why organisers put matches there. But the UAE’s 4-1 win over Qatar got many locals on board, and from that moment everyone wanted more of Abdulrahman.

There was a lovely moment when the UAE squad patiently waited on the team bus as five Emirati students would not let go of two-goal hero and man of the match Ahmed Khalil.

There was the giddy reaction to Ali Mabkhout’s opening goal against Bahrain after a record-breaking 12 seconds. There were knowing nods in the press box; this team, led by the magical Abdulrahman, was going to make some noise.

More local fans asked for his autograph. More local media asked if he would play overseas. It would not be the last time the “Omar question” would be posed.

From the rain in Canberra to the heat of Brisbane, we followed Mahdi and his band of brothers. The media simply could not get enough of the story of the “16 players” who had progressed under his tutelage for over a decade.

The coach almost, but not quite, snapped over yet another question about avoiding Japan. “We’re happy to face anyone,” he repeated. Not for the first time, he was proven right.

A heartbreaking loss to Iran meant the UAE would indeed face the champions in the quarter-final. Few gave them any hope.

By the time we landed in Sydney, Amoory-mania was taking off. “Your No 10”, the foreign journalists would call him. Soon he was simply “Omar”. First-name recognition – like Cristiano, Leo or Xavi – is football’s highest form of flattery. In Australia, a football superstar was born, and he was Emirati.

Few memories can compare with that wonderful night in Sydney. On January 23, 2015, Mahdi Ali’s men delivered on his promise to lead the UAE to the semi-finals of the Asian Cup by beating Japan on penalties.

First, Mabkhout’s outstanding control and volley to give the UAE the lead. Later, the slow realisation as the second half progressed that we were witnessing an astonishing defensive performance from Salem. And the gasps of incredulity in the media tribune as Abdulrahman impudently, ingeniously pulled off his Panenka penalty.

“I told him not to do it again because my heart can’t take it,” Mahdi Ali said, prompting laugher from reporters.

A grateful Salem, minutes after being named man of the match, sought out the travelling journalists to thank them individually, and even threw in a few hugs. It was a touching moment, my personal highlight of the entire competition.

In the mixed zone, the players could barely keep the grins off their faces, like children on Eid.

The normally reserved Adnan Al Talyani, the nation’s greatest footballer and a member of the technical staff, struggled to hold back tears as he joined the squad in singing the national anthem to the small contingent of UAE fans, and later blowing kisses our way as he headed to the team bus.

“Stop this man”, a local headline said before Australia’s semi-final against the UAE in Newcastle, over the photo of the young man with the distinctive, bushy hair. Everyone knew the name by now.

It was not to be, as the UAE succumbed to the hosts. The players, disappointed but proud, gave the impression of a team that had nothing left to give. The heroic performance against Japan had proven an early final for them.

The journey was not over. The team gave us one last hurrah, the third-place play-off win over Iraq, and the UAE’s finest Asian Cup finish on foreign soil.

For the last time we faced Mahdi Ali, and predictably he was already looking ahead to the challenge of leading the UAE to the 2018 World Cup, his ultimate “dream”.

A little smile hinted that he might just allow himself a few moments of satisfaction over a memorable three weeks down under.

The rest of us won’t soon forget Australia 2015.

akhaled@thenational.ae

Follow us at our new home on Twitter @NatSportUAE

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

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 Africa Institute 101

Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction. 

While you're here
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.

• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.

Ain Dubai in numbers

126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure

1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch

16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place

192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

MATCH INFO

Europa League final

Marseille 0

Atletico Madrid 3
Greizmann (21', 49'), Gabi (89')

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 325bhp

Torque: 450Nm

Price: Dh289,000

The specs

Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm

Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm

Transmission: eight-speed auto

Price: from Dh130,000

On sale: now