Asian Games provided the silver lining

There is no doubt that one person who was sorely missed in the UAE's surge for an Olympic spot in London this year is the late Diab Awana. It was the Bani Yas lad who was so integral for the UAE squad till his untimely death last year. It has been tough for the UAE to come to terms with that shock. My mind goes back to the football final against Japan at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, in November 2010. The Tianhe Stadium was packed, mostly with fans supporting the Japanese rather than the UAE. But with Awana weaving his magic from deep within his own territory, there were quite a few converts to the UAE cause. After playing some entertaining football, the UAE was left ruing their missed chances when defender Yuki Saneto sneaked in unmarked on the right, accepted a cross from Kensuke Nagai and slammed past Ali Khasif on the UAE goal in the 74th minute of play. But that silver medal sent a message to the world that the UAE team can no longer be taken for granted. Vivid memory The UAE had not had things easy in China. During the previous two matches — in the semi-finals they beat South Korea led by AS Monaco striker Park Chu-young and in the quarter-finals they edged out North Korea in a tie-breaker. The semi-final is so very vivid in my memory today. The match had gone into extra-time and South Korean coach Hong Myung-bo, known for his tactical brilliance, substituted his main goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu with a fresh pair of hands of Lee Bum-young. Australian referee Ben Williams had a look at his watch with the intent of signalling for the tie-breaker. But Omar Abdul Rahman had other ideas. The Al Ain playmaker sent Ahmad Ali clean inside the South Korean box with a deft touch and the UAE striker drove home the match-winner to seal the UAE's place in a first-ever final of an Asian Games. The UAE had shown a similar side of their gritty nature in their quarter-finals against North Korea. They battled a full 120 minutes with a goalless draw, and finally settled the issue in the shoot-out with Mohammad Al Shehi sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to make the semi-finals. This is a squad that has gone through the whole motion of development. Along the way the UAE has won the AFC Youth Cup (2008); a quarter-finals at the 2009 Fifa World Youth Cup in Egypt and the Gulf champions earlier in 2010. The pivotal figure to their cause has been coach Mahdi Ali, who has managed to keep this group of youngsters motivated and focused on the task ahead. This time around, it is about the UAE making the journey to London. This bunch of players had the self belief and they have proved it all along!