Abu Dhabi: When Omar Abdul Rahman made his debut for Al Ain as a 16-year-old in 2009, Chilean ace Jorge Valdivia was already a man of repute and mainstay in the purple brigade’s set-up.
Such was his influence within and outside the team that he earned the nickname the ‘Magician.’ That season Al Ain won the Etisalat Cup, President’s Cup and 2009 Super Cup.
Six years down the line, Omar has taken up the role of Valdivia in the Al Ain set-up. He is an inseparable part of the team and has earned the reputation of being the blue-eyed boy of UAE football. The Al Ain versus Al Wahda derby of Arabian Gulf League (AGL) on Saturday was a clash between the two ace playmakers. And Valdivia, who entered history books by steering his team to the Copa America title for the first time in the tournament’s 99-year history earlier this year, had the last laugh as Al Wahda stunned Al Ain 2-1 to hand the latter their first defeat in four matches.
The brace scored by Argentinian Sebastian Tagliabue had assists from Valdivia. The first came after Valdivia triggered the move with a back-header and the second was a mesmerising display of skill to send two defenders the wrong way before finding Tagliabue with a measured through. “It is a good result for us because Al Ain is very strong. The win is big boost for us after a couple of failures. We can now look forward to the next game,” said Valdivia, adding that, his experience of being in the Al Ain setup before was a huge help going into the match.
“I recollected things of the past and that was of huge help. I had good memories of playing in Al Ain but inside the field I gave everything for my new team. I gave everything for Al Ain when I played for them and here too I will be giving my best for Wahda as you saw today,” added Valdivia.
Omar too was influential in reducing the margin as his curling cross from a setpiece created enough doubt in the mind of Al Wahda custodian Adel Al Hosani, who remained rooted and Nigerian striker Emmanuel Emenike nodded home with ease.
However, Omar refused to accept that it was because of Valdivia’s influence that his side ended up on the losing side. “I wouldn’t say that we lost because of Valdivia. I would say we didn’t have luck today. We came close to scoring a couple of times but unfortunately couldn’t get the second goal. We have to quickly put this loss behind and move on,” said Omar.
Unlike his counterpart, Al Wahda striker Tagliabue was all praise for Valdivia: “Valdivia is simply growing in confidence and he is amazing. The way he controls the game with the ball is simply exceptional, especially the passing,” said the Argentinian.
Al Wahda coach Javier Aguirre also hailed his playmaker. “Players like Valdivia are the kind who can rise to the big occasion, and tonight, he played a massive role in our victory,” said Aguirre, adding that Valdivia controlled the pace of the game whenever it mattered, made some excellent passes and created the second goal with a standout pass. “We know how good he is and hope he can continue with the good work.”
Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic accepted that Al Wahda was the better team on the night. “We must give credit to Al Wahda for a good game. They marked our players well and made lesser mistakes than us. They are also a good team with some good signings this season,” said the Croatian, adding: “We had a few opportunities to score but didn’t score and lost a game after a long time. Perhaps we didn’t play well.”
