Dubai: Two members of the UAE’s 1990 Fifa World Cup squad were flown to Brazil for this summer’s tournament to meet their former coach as part of a documentary chronicling their historic qualification 24 years ago.

Ali Thani and Abdul Rahman Al Haddad were reunited with Carlos Alberto Parreira — who was up until recently the technical director of the Brazilian national team — on the sidelines of the 2014 Fifa World Cup.

The former players visited Brazil’s training camp, met players and watched a match at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

“The trip to Brazil was beyond imagination,” said Thani. “I cannot describe the feelings I had. The reunion with Parreira was very emotional, it was like a father and child reunion. When he saw us the first time it was during a press conference for the Brazil team; he paused the press conference to welcome and introduce us.

“Twenty-four years ago I was coached by the same manager who looks after these players, many of them were not born at that time. They did not believe I still have the shirt I used to wear during Italia ‘90 until I showed it to them and asked Parreira to sign it.”

Thani and Al Haddad’s reunion with the former UAE coach will form part of a film by Image Nation, led by acclaimed creative producer Stevan Riley (Fire in Babylon, 2010), which will combine archive footage, interviews and new on-location shots.

“I considered making a similar trip a long time ago but circumstances did not allow me at the time,” said Al Haddad. “One day I received a call from Image Nation and they told me about the brilliant documentary and surprised me with this trip to Brazil to reunite with Parreira.”

The Emirati team sealed qualification for the 1990 World Cup by winning an incredibly tense Asian qualifying competition in Singapore that was held in October 1989. They battled hard for their place, having been given little hope against strong teams such as China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, South Korea and North Korea.

Since dubbed the “golden generation”, their success is widely regarded as the UAE’s proudest sporting achievement.

“At the time, we were a group of amateur players, making many sacrifices to play and represent our country,” said Thani. “Many had left their families, others left their jobs, just to be able to play in the World Cup qualifications. Nobody expected us to beat all the odds and qualify.”

As well as the UAE side, Parreira has led four other national teams to World Cup qualification: Kuwait in 1982, his native Brazil in 1994 and 2006, Saudi Arabia in 1998 and South Africa in 2010.

Image Nation is asking the public to become involved in the World Cup film by telling their own stories and sharing their memories, which will become an important part of the documentary-making process.

They can call +971 50 812 0599, email UAEWorldCupFilm@gmail.com, go to Facebook www.facebook.com/UAEworldcupfilm or on Twitter @UAEWorldCupFilm.