The last time I saw Ali Adnan was in Australia in January at the Asian Cup. He arrived down under with a big reputation but unlike fellow west Asian talent Omar Abdulrahman, he disappointed.
The left-back didn’t look then to be a player set for Serie A, one of the best leagues in the world. Adnan looked overweight, unfit and frustrated.
A burgeoning reputation seemed to be sitting heavily on the shoulders of the man who was quickly labelled as ‘Asia’s Gareth Bale’ after making his breakthrough.
It was an easy label to assign. The media doesn’t need a second invitation and it was hard to resist at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2013.
In Turkey, he was one of the stand out players and that is not always an easy thing for a left-back to achieve. Tall, muscular and quick, he showed a gift for goals too.
His 93rd minute slaloming equaliser against England immediately became part of Iraqi football legend.
A goal in the semi-final against Uruguay helped level the match but the South Americans triumphed with a penalty shootout.
But it was enough to make Adnan one of the continent’s biggest stars. It was surely just a matter of time before he moved to Europe. Unlike some, however, we were spared a long drawn out ‘will he, won’t he’ saga that others have led us on (of course, we’re looking at you Omar Abdulrahman).
#Udinese‘s new No.53 #AliAdnan shows off his skills on the #StadioFriuli turf! #WelcomeAliAdnan pic.twitter.com/OkW42232Cs
— Udinese Calcio (@Udinese_1896) July 3, 2015
Soon after the tournament, Caykur Rizespor, a Turkish club, paid not far short of Dhs3.7 million ($1m) to take one of Asia’s brightest talents west in the face of competition such as Sevilla and Galatasaray.
His time by the Black Sea was not a total success, though his first season was satisfactory. He was not as explosive as some hoped but played 32 out of 34 appearances and scored three goals.
The second season was expected to be the one in which he would take off yet that summer, something seemed to happen. There is still the question of whether the defender did, as widely reported in June 2014, join the Iraqi army to fight ISIS.
Pictures of the star in military fatigues were shown around the world but when asked about the situation at a press conference after signing for Udinese, Adnan said it was done in order to advertise the armed forces.
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Whatever the truth, the second campaign did not go as plan and he did not, as expected, start to show what he can really do. Soon after it started, in September, he was heading to the Asian Games with the IraqU23 team in South Korea.
It was a decision that did not endear him to coach nor club. After his return to Turkey, there were reports of late nights and female friends. Whether or not these were true, the evidence for his weight gain was soon there for all to see.
At the Asian Cup, the continent’s biggest competition, the stage should have been set. It should have been the time when the left-back became a genuine star.
Iraq made the semi-finals but Adnan started just the one game out of six and was peripheral to most of the action. He was a regular substitute – perhaps witness to the coach’s belief in his skills but doubts over his fitness.
There are also doubts over his mentality and it is this which will determine whether he will be a success in Italy. Adnan has been lucky. It was looking as if he was not part of Rizespor’s plans for next season.
Instead, he is in Serie A with Udinese and, it is to be hoped, he will become the first Iraqi to play in Italy’s top flight.
Udinese did not have a great season in 2014-15, finishing 16th and just two spots clear of the relegation zone, even if the drop never really looked likely. The club does, however, boast a long tradition of helping players develop and then move on to bigger and better things.
That should not be on the mind of Adnan at the moment. He needs to succeed in the here and now. The move could, should, be the best thing to ever happen to both him and the prospects of Iraqi players. Nothing less than extreme professionalism will be accepted in Italy’s top tier.
It may be a shock to Adnan’s system but if he works hard and returns to his former physical condition then fans in Italy, but more importantly, Iraq, will get a chance to show how good he can really be.
