Dubai: September 11 is a special date in the life of Sami Al Jaber. It was on this day in 1992 that Al Hilal's most famous son made his debut for the Saudi Arabian national team against Syria in the Arab Nations Cup.
Much has happened since that 1-1 draw for Al Jaber, who went on to become the second-highest capped player for his country and currently holds the prestigious title of sports director at Al Hilal at 38.
"Life after football has been great, but it is completely different. It is a career worth reflecting upon. I've had my moments and I am content with what I have achieved," Al Jaber told Gulf News after his club's 2-0 loss to Al Ahli in a friendly here last week.
"I would still prefer being a player all over again as there is too much responsibility that goes with this position of being a sports director. But I enjoy it as it keeps me in football."
Al Jaber joined Al Hilal as a 15-year-old, and following nearly two decades, he called time on his career in January 2008 when his club held a testimonial against Premiership giants Manchester United.
It was a fitting end for a footballing genius known as the Desert Fox for his uncanny ability and improvisation in front of goal, as the Saudi outfit won 3-2 with Al Jaber scoring from the penalty spot.
Honours
During his time, Al Hilal won the league and the Crown Prince Cup six times each and two Asian Champions League titles. He also ended as the Saudi Premier League's topscorer on two occasions in 1989-90 and 1992-93.
However, it is his international career that is worth reflecting on. Since making his debut, Al Jaber was at the heart of Saudi Arabia's success on the international stage. He has the unenviable record of playing in four successive World Cups from 1994 and his record of 163 caps is second only to goalkeeper Mohammad Al Deayea in his country's history.
In August 2000, Al Jaber became the first Saudi player to play in the English Premier League when his club Al Hilal agreed terms to sell him to Wolverhampton Wanderers after an impressive display before their boss, Colin Lee. The deal consisted of an initial loan period of five months with the option to buy for a reported £1.2 million (Dh6.99 million) at its conclusion.
However, while all this was positive for Al Jaber, it turned out to be the start of a slide in the fortunes of Saudi Arabian football. For the first time in more than 15 years, they failed to qualify for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
Al Jaber knows what needs to be done. "The football authorities need time and they need to concentrate and start at the youth level," he said.
"They need to bring in good coaches and good names to prepare the youth for the future. This process has already started with a lot of big names entering Saudi football.
"But the key is the youth because we need to learn from all other top footballing nations — they are taking care of the youth, developing them and spending money on them," Al Jaber said.
Saudi Arabia have a good history of player development. Al Jaber himself came through the lower ranks of club football and then the national side's youth development.
"We went to the Fifa World Youth Cup in 1990 [in Scotland] and the same side was the core of the team that represented Saudi Arabia in our first Fifa World Cup four years later," he said.
Investment in youth
As an astute reader of the game, Al Jaber sees the shift in Asian football with countries like Japan and South Korea reaping the rewards for investing in sustained youth development.
"Japan and Korea have a different mentality when it comes to football," he said.
And then there is Australia who ensures that 90 per cent of their team plays in England. Japanese or Korean players also go out all over Europe or in the tougher South American leagues so that they can work, develop and cooperate with other football mentalities while developing themselves.
"But in this region we are too keen to just look down instead of looking to the future. We need to have a vision to send the right batch of people out to these competitive leagues so that they return and enrich our football here.
"You need to learn something new in football every day."