Mahdi Ali has been rewarded for the UAE’s strong 2015 with a nomination for the prestigious Asian Football Confederation Coach of the Year award.
Ali, 50, was named on the three-man shortlist on Wenesday for the AFC Annual Awards alongside Australia’s Ange Postecoglou and Japan women’s Norio Sasaki. The Emirati guided his nation to a fine third during January’s Asian Cup.
The UAE have Al Ahli forward Ahmed Khalil and Al Ain attacking midfielder Omar Abdulrahman up for the previously announced Player of the Year prize, with AFC Champions League finalists Ahli in contention for Club of the Year and playmaker Everton Ribeiro competing for
Foreign Player of the Year. The winners will be revealed during Sunday’s glitzy ceremony in New Delhi, India.
Former UAE star Ali was a prominent figure during the run in Australia at the start of the year.
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He has followed that up by leading the Whites to runners-up in Group A for the second round of AFC qualifying, wins in the last two fixtures at home to Palestine and leaders Saudi Arabia in March guaranteeing progression to the next stage.
Abdulrahman, 24, was one of the stand-out players Down Under. International team-mate Khalil, 24, has been in oustanding form in front of goal this year, his six strikes in the ACL and 10 in the AFC qualifiers putting him in second spot on both scoring charts.
They are rivalled for the top individual gong by Guangzhou
Evergrande captain Zheng Zhi. His Southern China Tigers – who beat Ahli in the ACL decider – are competing for Club of the Year, alongside 2015 AFC Cup champions Johor Darul Ta’zim of Malaysia.
Red Knights star Ribeiro is up against Guangzhou’s 2015 ACL top scorer Ricardo Goulart and striker Juan Belencoso of Hong Kong’s Kitchee SC in the foreign section.
