The UAE Pro League has announced the December nominees for the Arabian Gulf League monthly awards in the categories of Best Player, Best Goalkeeper and Best Coach.
A total of five players were nominated for the player of the month award; Abdullah Al Naqbi from Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club, Mahmoud Khamis from Al Nasr, Yahya Nader from Al Ain, Joao Pedro from Al Dhafra and Fabio De Lima from Al Wasl.
De Lima continued to excel in December with three goals; a brace against Fujairah and one against Shabab Al Ahli.
Meanwhile, fellow Brazilian striker Pedro’s goals against Ittihad Kalba, Al Ain and Sharjah helped Al Dhafra collect seven out of nine available to win last month.
Nasr’s flying left-back Khamis found the back of the net against Hatta and Fujairah, helping the Blues to win both games.
Nader set up team-mate Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba for Al Ain’s second goal to win the Clasico against Al Wahda, while fellow centre midfielder Al Naqbi impressed for Shabab Al Ahli, contributing two assists in December to round off the nominees.
Competing for Goalkeeper of the Month award are Dhafra’s Khalid Al Senani, Shabab Al Ahli’s Majed Nasser and Al Ain’s Khalid Essa.
Al Senani kept one clean sheet in four matches and his saves helped Dhafra collect 10 out of 12 points in December. Nasser, meanwhile, kept three clean sheets and Essa crowned his month with a heroic performance and a clean sheet against Wahda.
In terms of coaches, Rodolfo Arruabarrena led Shabab Al Ahli to the top of the league, and is joined in the nominees list alongside Al Jazira’s Marcel Keizer and Dhafra’s Vuk Rasovic.
Voting started at 19:00 on Sunday and continues for 48 hours, after which the winners will be announced through the Pro League’s official social media channels. The winners will receive their awards before their teams’ matches in the next match-week of the AGL.
