Omar vows to help UAE regain title

Dubai: Former UAE skipper Mohammad Omar has vowed to do his best to help the UAE retain the Gulf Cup after being recalled to the national squad.

"I am very delighted with the UAE coach recalling me to join the national team preparing for the 19th Gulf Cup next month in Muscat," Omar told Gulf News before joining the training camp in Al Ain yesterday.

He added: "I love my country and I love the national team. This is a national duty no Emirati will hesitate to obey. I am like a soldier. When they ask him to join the army to defend the country, I can not say no to the UAE.

"It's a great honour for me and it's a source of pride and glory to me and to any UAE player to join the national team."

Omar thanked the team's coach, Dominique Bathenay, for recalling him. "I will do my best and spare no effort in raising the UAE flag high and defending the title that we won two years ago," he said.

Omar attracted attention in the current season with his club Al Nasr. He scored nine goals for Al Nasr in 10 league matches.

Experts said the standard Omar showed with Al Nasr, despite being 35 years old, returned him to his excellent standard, when he began with Al Wasl club in the mid–ninties.

He played for three other clubs before joining Al Nasr. Omar won the Asian Champions League with Al Ain in 2003.

He also played for Al Jazira and Al Dhafra.

"I showed a good standrad with Al Nasr because I began with them from the start of the season and attended the training camp in Europe, and not like Al Dhafra, where I played four months with them at the middle of the season, which was not enough for me to show my good standard," Omar said.

He said his contract with Al Nasr expires at the end of the current season.

"My contract with Al Nasr is for one season and I will decide about renewing it at the end of the season."

The former skipper said the Muscat mission will not be easy.

"All the GCC countries are prepared well, and we will fight there to keep the title .