The 2015/16 Arabian Gulf League awards took place on Saturday night at Emirates Palace. John McAuley was there to see the prizes handed out.
The night’s winners
There were 10 individual categories in all, with the three main awards going to representatives from the top three sides of the 2015/16 campaign.
Al Ahli’s Cosmin Olaroiu took home coach of the year, Al Ain’s Omar Abdulrahman was voted Emirati of the year and Al Wahda’s Sebastian Tagliabue got the nod for foreign player of the year.
Majed Naser (Ahli) won best goalkeeper and Mohammed Al Akberi (Wahda) named best Under-21 player.
Team of the year
A composite XI was selected, comprising the best players in their respective positions from the past league season.
They were goalkeeper Majed Naser (Ahli), defenders Mahmoud Khamis (Al Nasr), Kwon Kyung-won (Ahli), Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) and Ahmed Ibrahim (Nasr), midfielders Khamis Esmail (Ahli), Majed Hassan (Ahli) Everton Ribeiro (Ahli) and Omar Abdulrahman (Al Ain), and forwards Ali Mabkhout (Al Jazira) and Sebastian Tagliabue (Wahda).
Read more: Moussa Sow's good timing, Jorge Valdivia's bad introduction – AGL bests and worsts 2015/16
Managing the best
“It’s good that people appreciate my work,” Olaroiu said. “It’s deserved more for my team, for my players, for my staff – it’s not only me. It’s the work of a team, coordinated by me.
“We try always to do our best to make the team win on a constant basis. We try to win the games, improve day-by-day, game-by-game, training-by-training and then we look for the competitions and then the awards.”
Local pride
Asked if being named the league’s finest local player will increase the pressure on him next season, Abdulrahman said: “No, I play football for fun, I don’t feel any pressure. I have to thank my Al Ain teammates and the fans for this award.”
It is the second time Abdulrahman has received the accolade after winning the same prize in 2012/13.
Family values
“I thank my wife and my family: they are my life and the power of my life in football,” Tagliabue said. “This is for them. I am very happy it was three awards for me: top scorer, best foreigner and in the team of the year.
“I always promise the team and the fans I will never give less than 100 per cent. I hope next year will be even better than this year, personally and for the team.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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