Al Talyani well positioned to pass on insights

Guangzhou: Ever wondered about the minor aspects that have crept into a new-look UAE national football squad? Well, look no further as part of the answer comes in the form of former star striker Adnan Al Talyani.

The former Al Shaab and UAE great — voted among the best footballers of the century from the Arab world — has been recruited by the UAE Football Association (UAE FA) to oversee and guide the younger crop of players coming through the youth system.

Al Talyani is in Guangzhou mixing around freely with the under-23 squad that is taking part in the football competition at the 16th Asian Games. Ever the humble man, he refrains from giving interviews, but after much coaxing, Al Talyani obliges to take a few questions and state his part of the UAE FA's success story.

"The UAE FA has worked hard to bring in this success at all age levels. A lot of hard work has gone into this process, and possibly not much of this can be seen at first sight," Al Talyani said.

"Mehdi Ali has been a fantastic coach for this team and in keeping with international standards we have been patient and stuck to the same managerial and technical staff over the years. Things have not been easy, but the fruits are being seen slowly with the results coming in," he added.

Measured progress

"Everyone has worked hard to get here, not just the players but the technical and coach staff too. The results have been showing over the past couple of years and we hope to continue at this pace and continue till we reach the end of this competition," Al Talyani said.

"We are not in a hurry. We are confident about the character of this team, so our focus will be to take one match at a time and not look too far into the competition," he added.

And what exactly is his role in the set-up? "To start with, football has evolved dramatically over the past few years. It is so different now. These players are so very technical and skillful and they possess the ability to do things with the ball possibly due to the advancement in the game. The focus has changed for every sport. There is a lot of emphasis on being an athlete first and then a person pursuing a particular sport," he said.

"There are some players who come to me and ask me about my experiences in football. They want to know various things. They ask me sometimes on the best position to be on the field or about how I scored goals in my days or how to mount an attack. They want to know the real me," Al Talyani said.