Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany is hoping to catch a glimpse of UAE star Omar Abdulrahman once more in today’s friendly between Al Ain and the Premier League champions.
The 22-year-old spent a fortnight on trial with the Blues following his eye-catching performances at 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Abdulrahman is expected to be given a short run out in the gala match because of Sunday’s President’s Cup clash with Al Ahli.
Kompany spoke fondly of the 2013 Gulf Cup player of the tournament’s time in England, and expressed regret about his own unlikely participation in the tour match because of his upcoming World Cup commitments with Belgium.
“I remember Omar as I was there when he trained with us,” the Belgium centre-back said. “He is a good player.
“I had a discussion with somebody local to here, and heard he is doing very well. It will be good to see him.
“Regarding the game tomorrow, it is the same as the manager [Manuel Pellegrini who doubted the international stars would feature] said before. We have the World Cup to come.
“The main thing for us is to be here to celebrate and represent the link between Manchester and the Abu Dhabi people. That is our mission.
“If we can play in the game, then good, but if not, we have had plenty of great experiences so far out here.”
Despite some of City’s top players being unable to feature, their star-studded squad has flown over to the Emirates to continue the celebrations of their domestic success.
Argentina right-back Pablo Zabaleta was thrilled about a busy few weeks of action in the Middle East and South America. He said: “It is a very exciting game. I am looking forward to it, it will be a great game for the people in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi to come and see.
“It is an exciting time for me personally as I fly out next week to meet up with the Argentina team to start training for the World Cup.”
Reserve goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon is likely to benefit from a rare outing because of Joe Hart’s selection for England.
The giant Romanian said: “We know it is very warm weather.
“It will be an interesting game that we want the fans to enjoy.
“It is good to be here to celebrate the title with the fans out here.”
