Omar Abdulrahman steals the headlines when it comes to the United Arab Emirates football and it's not just because of the hair. The playmaker is always worth watching. Any football figure who is in the UAE for more than 90 minutes is invited to give his opinion of the Al Ain star, with Spain and Barcelona legend Xavi the most recent. He revealed this week in Dubai that he was fan of 'Amoory' –though he's not likely to say anything else- and thinks he should be in Europe.
That is a subject that has been done to death but it is time for someone else to take the spotlight when it comes to football in the UAE. That someone is Ahmed Khalil.
The time and the place is Sunday in New Delhi when the Asian Football Confederation names its player of the year. The two stars from the team that came third at the 2015 Asian Cup in January will be sharing the podium with Zheng Zhi, the captain of the Guangzhou Evergrande team that defeated Khalil's Al Ahli in the 2015 Asian Champions League final.
A points system is used to determine the names on the shortlist with it all depending on man of the match awards. Be named as the MVP in Asian action and you win points. The bigger the competition, the more you collect. It's something of a strange system with MVP awards being notoriously skewed towards those that score but at least these days, it only determines the shortlist and not the winner.
Omar would be a tempting pick, not just because of his performances but given his stature in the game, the win would be big news. Domestically, his form has been mixed, though such home performances do not count. He impressed at the Asian Cup and helped Al Ain to the last eight of the Champions League.
Zheng is the favourite because of that title win. The AFC likes, when possible, to give it to a member of the team that wins its annual club competition and with the award being presented just days after the final finishes, it is obviously much fresher in the memory than anything that happened at the Asian Cup. It is no coincidence that three of the last five winners of the individual prize had just won the Champions League. But that doesn't mean that the Asian Cup has no effect. That and the fact that ZZ was honoured just two years ago mean that the trophy is not in the bag for the Chinese captain just yet.
China's Asian Cup was better than usual but then the usual – or at least the last two tournaments were pretty bad. Reaching the quarter-finals was a step in the right direction but this did not mark a resurgence of the Red Dragons, just a couple of solid performances in the group stage. The media gets excited about the Chinese national team whenever it threatens to have success, such is the interest in the country's football scene. The fact that the team is struggling in qualification for the 2018 World Cup may also be a light black mark against Zheng's name.
UAE were, of course, better in Australia and finished in third, defeating defending champions Japan along the way. Khalil scored four to end up as joint-second top scorer with Hamza Al-Dardour – who scored all his in a single game. It was a good start to the year.
Then there have been World Cup qualifiers. Until last week when Mohammad Al-Sahlawi scored five goals against Timor Leste, Khalil was the leading scorer in the second round of qualification for Russia 2018. He has still managed 10 goals, quite a feat regardless of the opposition.
His goalscoring for his club on the continental stage has been just as impressive. Khalil scored six times on the way to the final. It was Al Ahli's first time past the group stage and so while there was disappointment at the way it ended, with a fairly tame 1-0 loss to Guangzhou, the main feeling will be of pride and a determination to build on the success, something that the striker has already been vocal about.
So, we have the second top goalscorer in the Asian Champions League, the Asian Cup and World Cup qualification. That's impressive consistency. Nasser Al-Shamrani won the award last year despite the fact that his Al Hilal team lost the Champions League final. Khalil's all-round form has been better and he hasn't spat on anyone either.
Last weekend was a painful one for Ahmed Khalil but the one just around the corner may be a good deal better.
