Mahdi Ali focussed on guiding UAE to greater glory

Mahdi Ali may not have achieved his dreams as a player but he is on a tryst with destiny to bring greater glory for the country as head coach of the UAE national football team.

Hailed as the man with Midas touch, the Gulf Cup winning UAE coach has set his sights on the 2018 World Cup.

These are not hollow dreams. He has delivered the goods in the past most notably leading a young group of players to create history by qualifying to participating in the London Olympics last year.

However, it would not have been possible to achieve this without the encouragement of the country's Leadership.

"The gesture of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, to grant me sabbatical from my job as an electrical engineer in Dubai Municipality to be able to manage my mission as a full time coach for the UAE football national team is a great honour," said Mahdi Ali.

"Before that I was not able to achieve my goals in the training field for fear of being fired from my original job as an engineer in Dubai Municipality," said Mahdi who was promoted as head coach last August following UAE's Olympic adventure.

It has helped him focus on guiding the UAE national football team to greater glory.

"This will enhance me in my career as coach and give more stability because as a coach you are under lot of pressure," he said.

However, the first Emirati coach to be appointed to the job full time is confident of facing the challenges ahead.

He did not achieve his dreams when he was a player with the national squad mainly because of injuries but on the other hand as a coach he has achieved some of his goals.

Among his accomplishments are winning the Asian Cup in 2008 in Saudi Arabia, qualifying to the 2009 Youth World Cup, Gulf Cup in Doha 2010, and getting the silver medal in the Asian Games in China in 2010.

Qualifying for the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia remains the immediate target.

He asserted in a lecture during a symposium organised by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, Dubai under the title 'The forum of Leaders of Excellence' that the motivation behind all these achievements is the spirit of teamwork and desire to raise the flag of the UAE in international fields.

“As well the boundless and limitless support of their Highnesses, Rulers and Sheikhs of Emirates, which served as a catalyst to achieve such goals” said Mahdi.

"Also we can’t forget the great support of the UAE fans that never stop supporting our teams since the beginning which pump the fresh air and blood in the lungs of the players which is reflected on their performance in the field,” added Mahdi.

He attributed the secret of his success to having gained experience working in different age groups in several tournaments.

His first experience was as an assistant coach of Al Ahli club for six years where he learnt the basics.

This was followed by a training course in Britain which was organised by the Football Association. He followed another session organised by the German Foreign Ministry specialising in fitness.

Above all, the supports from the leaders of the UAE in addition to the confidence bestowed on him have had a positive influence.

He revealed that he did not pay any attention to criticism which focuses on person not the performance. He disclosed that he didn’t read the newspapers during the games and he preferred to read them after the conclusion of the games.

For instance during the Gulf Cup, an article was published in the newspapers questioning how an electrical engineer could be a successful coach.

"In fact, I didn’t read such articles. I am not concerned about what is written about me during the tournaments and I prefer to focus at my work," he said.

On the contrary, he said, he was honoured to be electric engineer where without electricity power people lived in dark.

Regarding team selections and his preference for young players at the expense of experienced players, Mahdi said when choosing a combination for any team depends on the presence of two players who have great experience in the age group 28 to 31 on the ‘triangle’ concept.

"Then four players between 24 and 27 and three young players who want to prove their presence within the team," he revealed.

He added that the psychological aspect is vital in dealing with the young players in particular and the other players in general within other settings include training, skills and motivation.

 

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