Team UAE for London Olympics 2012
The Past
Although team United Arab Emirates have been a constant contestant in each and every qualifiers for the Soccer’s Olympic Championship since the year 1980, their crusade will start at London Olympic 2012 as this time they have been able to effectively confirm a place at the Olympic Games. They did formerly intimidate to arrive at the tournament in advance of Atlanta in the year 1996, when they cruise easily into the final round in which they lost to their last obstacle, an accomplishment that recurred in the qualifying stage for Athens Olympic in the year 2004. However, they didn’t do well in the preliminary stages even for Sydney Olympic 2000 & who can forget Beijing Olympic in the year 2008, when they were forced to exit from the first round of qualifiers.
The Present
This would be the first time in the history when UAE has qualified for Olympic and this time it’s London Ol;ympic 2012 that would be the first time for Men’s Olympic Football Championship & is certainly considered an additional achievement for UAE coach Mahdi Ali. The knowledgeable coach earlier helped his country to conquest in the year 2008 AFC Under 19 Tournament, that was not all as they also secured yet another position in the FIFA Under 20 World Cup which was held in Egypt the subsequent year. All the tribute for this Olympic qualifying accomplishment goes to the close relationship and mutual understanding among coach & players.
The Future
It was by no means an unplanned or surprise qualification success, team UAE showed over and over again brilliant performances all the way through, including conquest over AFC heavyweights Australia & Uzbekistan. UAE’s Coach Mahdi Ali has illustrated Olympic tournament as “a international occasion and almost equivalent & important than the FIFA World Cup. You ought to find the world’s best teams and players taking part in every sport.” He added that, by qualifying for London Olympic 2012 we’ve showed the world that our team has something special in them also players have by now tiled their place in Emirati Soccer history, though the expert coach is undoubtedly keen to make a further splatter once in London Olympic 2012. They will certainly be eyeing for some big upset and trying to claim a medal in this Olympics, only time will tell.
Facts and figures
Former stars
- Fahad Khamees,
- Abdullah Sultan
Key players
- Ahmed Khalil,
- Hamdan Al Kamali,
- Omar Abdulrahm,
- Mohamed Ahmed
