Ahmed Rabea’s rapid rise from Al Jazira prospect to full UAE international is a source of pride for his former coach at club level, Walter Zenga.
Teenage forward Rabea capped a remarkable debut season in top-flight football as he played the final 15 and some minutes in the Whites’ 1-0 win over Georgia on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old was a major part of the early success enjoyed at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium under Zenga.
And while Jazira lost the Arabian Gulf Cup final and crashed out of Asia in the last eight, Zenga believes Rabea’s international bow proves he left his mark in Abu Dhabi.
“Victory is not only trophies or how much money you have in the bank. That is not important,” he said. “What is important is what you build, what you did during your career and especially what you do in your career as a coach.
“One simple example, Rabea who is with the national team, is a winner for me. He is one big win.”
Rabea scored six goals in all competitions last season, and while Zenga questioned his professionalism at times he believes he has a big future ahead of him.
“He’s a very nice guy and a good player. In terms of a player for the future, he has the future in his hands,” the 54-year-old added.
For his part, Rabea relished his first international appearance.
He said: “I didn’t feel fear while I was on the pitch as my colleagues encouraged me all the time.”
Getting the most out of Rabea and other exciting prospects at Jazira, including Khalfan Mubarak and Ahmed Al Attas, is now a job for Zenga’s successor Eric Gerets.
If the Belgian lifts some silverware next season, his Italian predecessor may well feel some familiar emotions.
Having watched an Al Nasr side full of players he helped develop triumph in the GCC Club Cup last month, Zenga joked: “I did the cooking, I prepared everything and then someone else arrived and ate.”
