“I was wishing for the trophies and it will give me more confidence for the next season,” Abdulrahman said as he gleefully cradled his prizes.
“I will not stop at this performance I will try to do better. I didn’t expect to win two trophies because the competitors were very strong, like Ismail Al Hamadi and Ali Mabkhout, they are great players.
“Honestly I think that all these players deserve these trophies and I give them to all the players in the league.”
Ahli striker Grafite, who beat top scorer Asamoah Gyan and Boris Kabi to the International Player of the Year title, said Abdulrahman’s brace of awards was richly deserved.
“Obviously he is the biggest player in the UAE because he has too much quality and has the quality to play in Europe or another league,” the Brazilian explained.
International flavour: Grafite (right) is all smiles as he picks up gong.
Picking up the foreign player gong completed a unique treble for Grafite who has previously won personal honours in Brazil, where he scooped the Bola de Prata in 2003, and Germany, where he was the Bundesliga top scorer and named Player of the Year in 2009.
“Now I have one more, I need to find some more space,” the former Wolfsburg striker joked. “This is very important for me because it says a lot for my work.
“I remember in 2011 one of your colleagues asked me ‘what do you think of the players who come here at 34-, 35-years just to enjoy the life’? I told him I didn’t know because I came here to play football, to play my best, to score goals and help my team. (Yesterday) I proved this and this is very important for me and my family.”
Coach of the Year went to Ajman boss Abdulwahab Abdulkadir who led the Orange Brigade to this season’s Etisalat Cup, the club’s first trophy for 29 years. Success for the Iraqi was one of the surprises of the night as he topped a final shortlist that also included Al Ain coach Cosmin Olaroiu and Red Knights coach Quique Sanchez Flores.
Teacher’s pride: Ajman boss Abdulkadir (right) poses with his award.
Abdulkadir, who has lived in the UAE for 30 years, said: “I have been here a long time and this gift is very big for me because there are many coaches from around the world like Cosmin, [Marcos] Paqueta and Quique.
“We must now redouble our actions because I am happy with it and I thank every teacher from when I was in college as they gave me the course.”
Earlier, Al Jazira custodian Ali Khaseif was named Goalkeeper of the Year, while Al Ain striker Yousef Ahmad walked off with the Young Player of the Year title.
In safe hands: Al Jazira custodian Ali Khaseif (right).
The night began with Ali Abdulla accepting an award for Fantasy Football Manager of the Year before Al Wahda walked away with the prize for Professional Club of the Year.
FULL AWARDS LIST
Emirati Player of the Year:
Winner: Omar Abdulrahman (Al Ain)
Runners-up: Ismail Al Hamadi (Al Ahli), Ali Mabkhout (Al Jazira)
International Player of the Year:
Winner: Grafite (Al Ahli)
Runners-up: Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain), Boris Kabi (Ajman)
Coach of the Year:
Winner: Abdulwahab Abdulkadir (Ajman)
Runners-up: Cosmin Olaroiu (Al Ain), Quique Sanchez Flores (Al Ahli)
Goalkeeper of the Year:
Winner: Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira)
Runners-up: Majed Naser (Al Ahli), Khaled Al Sinani (Al Dhafra)
Young Player of the Year:
Winner: Yousef Ahmad (Al Ain)
Runners-up: Khalifa Abdulla (Al Wasl), Ahmed Shambieh (Al Nasr)
Fans’ Player of the Year:
Winner: Omar Abdulrahman
Runners-up: Ismail Al Hamadi (Al Ahli), Mohamed Abou-Treika (Bani Yas)
Top Scorer:
Winner: Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain)
Runners-up: Grafite (Al Ahli), Boris Kabi (Ajman)
Professional Club of the Year:
Winner: Al Wahda Runners-up: Al Shabab, Al Jazira
Fantasy Football Manager of the Year
Winner: Ali Abdulla
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