Asian Cup 2015: UAE coach Mahdi Ali preaches teamwork as reason behind run of success
MAHDI Ali likes to talk about dreams he has had, but the sight of the UAE coach could just spark nightmares on the Australian bench.
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MAHDI Ali likes to talk about dreams he has had, but the sight of the UAE coach could just spark nightmares on the Australian bench.
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Ali is not a besuited coach, preferring the anonymity of a standard-issue tracksuit and baseball cap. Calm and courteous, he makes no attempt to stand out. It’s his resume, though, that does all the promoting necessary. This is an extraordinary man.
Just the fourth Emirati to coach the national team in more than 40 years, he was the first coach to take the Olympic side to a Games, in 2012.
Qualifying as an electrical engineer at the end of his playing days, he previously helped to found Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority, and was honoured for his involvement in the design of its park and ride ticketing system for the city’s Metro.
Multilingual, he translates for his players in interviews after games, and is known as Captain, which causes amusing confusion for foreign journalists.
He also has a track record of success that gives him a textbook ascension to the top job. In 2003 he began as assistant to the UAE’s U16 side and began moving through the ranks.
He won the 2008 Asian U19 Championship in Dammam and the 2010 U23 Gulf Cup in Doha, before finishing runners up to Japan in the 2010 Asian Games in China.
In making history by making the finals of the 2012 London Olympics, he vanquished the Australian side coached by Aurelio Vidmar, Ange Postecoglou’s assistant coach and used a dream he had to inspire his players.
Many of those players have come through the youth ranks with him, most notably the playmaker, Omar Abdulrahman, and it shows.
“We don’t play individually; we play as a team,” Ali has said.
“We always are close to each other, inside or outside the pitch. We feel like we are a family, the staff, the technical staff, medical staff and the players.
“Everybody knows his responsibilities and the limits and boundaries of the team. We have a program, and everyone knows what is needed from him.”
Other coaches too have noted the value of that stability and familiarity — including Ange Postecoglou, who faces Ali in the semi-final of the Asian Cup on Tuesday night.
“They are probably one of the few national teams in this region, and particularly the Middle East, who have been pretty stable in terms of their coach and their team,” Postecoglou said.
“They have benefited and they look more cohesive than some of the other sides that trend to chop and change a bit. That’s where their danger lies, rather than with the individuals. I think as you have seen this tournament, every team in Asia has technically gifted players.
“The ones who use them better are the ones who have a really cohesive team and I think UAE have one of those squads.”
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