Omar is Emirati pride; Tagliabue bags double

Abu Dhabi - Double delight for Al Wahda's Argentine Sebastian Tagliabue

Al Ain playmaker Omar Abdulrahman won his second Emirati Player of the Year award and it was double delight for Al Wahda's Argentine Sebastian Tagliabue at the Arabian Gulf League Awards at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night.
The event was held under the patronage of Shaikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and in the presence of Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development.
The fourth edition of the awards marked the conclusion of the 2015-16 Arabian Gulf League season.
Omar had an impressive season with 14 assists and three goals in the League. He got the better off Al Ahli's defensive midfielder Majed Hassan and Al Jazira's Ali Mabkhout. 'Amoory' was the most sought after, for selfies, after the award was handed over to him.
"I am very happy at receiving this award," he said.
Asked if this will act as an impetus for next season, he said: "I am not thinking too far. I just play for fun."
He added that this season was tough and next season is going to be tougher.
Omar had won the Emirati Player of the Year as well the Fans' Player of the Year in the inaugural 2012-13 edition.
Al Ahli's Cosmin Olaroiu clinched the Coach of the Year award for a second time. The Romanian had first won it in the 2013-14 season. Al Wahda's Javier Aguirre was unfortunate to miss out on the award after his team had produced an improved show this season. Al Ain's Zlatko Dalic was the third name in the contention.
"This was a successful season. This (award) is not for me but for the team," Olaroiu told the Khaleej Times.
Sebastian Tagliabue won the Arabian Gulf League Top Scorer award. He had scored 25 goals from 24 matches.
The Argentine also won the Foreign Player of the Year. He had tough competition from Brazilian midfielder Fabio De Lima, who scored 20 goals for Al Wasl and Brazilian Everton Ribeiro of Al Ahli, who had nine goals and 10 assists.
"I am surprised that I got the Foreign Player of the Year," Tagliabue said. Tagliabue has amassed 68 goals from 71 matches in his three League seasons. He has been instrumental in Al Wahda scaling one spot to finish third this season.
Al Ahli's Majed Naser was the Goalkeeper of the Year for keeping nine clean sheets. Al Ain's Khalid Eissa and Al Nasr's Ahmed Shambieh were the others in the running.
Al Wahda's Mohamed Al Akbari was the U-21 Player of the Year, while Al Jazira were the Professional Club of the Year.
Omar Khrbin of Al Dhafra won the Fans' Player of the Year beating Al Ain contenders Omar and Fellipe Bastos. Also, the Pro League Committee held the draw for the two Arabian Gulf Cup groups and for the Arabian Gulf League.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com