Asian Champions League Final Preview
Paul Williams
When the big moments come, you need your big players to stand up. To change the game in an instant. It's how we measure the great players of the game, those that deliver when their team needs it most.
For Al Ain, Omar Abdulrahman is that man. The little maestro is the heart and soul of 'The Boss'.
And when things were looking grim for the 2003 AFC Champions League winners earlier in the campaign, it was the afro-haired genius who came to the rescue.
After losing their opening two ACL matches to El Jaish, Al Ain, who have made no secret of their desire to add a second ACL title to their collection, were staring at an early exit. It would have been embarrassing for a club with the talent to win the competition, and would have almost certainly cost coach Zlatko Dalic his job.
But when the moment came, Abdulrahman delivered.
With 20 minutes to go, and scores still locked at 0-0, a foul by Osama Hawsawi on Colombian Danilo Asprilla right on the edge of the area presented Abdulrahman with a free kick right in his zone.
A free kick from a similar position in the first half smashed off the woodwork. As he lined up, the 12,400 strong crowd held its collective breath.
Whereas the woodwork denied him in the first half, it came to his aid this time. His low, curling free kick around the wall clipped the inside of the post and hit the back of the net. The celebration from Abdulrahman, the sheer joy, ecstasy and relief on his face said it all.
"Omar always improves our team, Omar always gives something more," Dalic said after the match.
"We have a very good team, with very good players, but Omar is special. You can always expect a good pass from him, a good free-kick. When we need him, he does something.
"Because he's Omar, he's 'Amoory'. Simply the best."
Suddenly 'The Boss' had a pulse. They've not lost another ACL game since.
Abdulrahman is the key player in this year's final, which will see Al Ain go up against South Korea's Jeonbuk Hyundai.
He is the one player Jeonbuk need to keep quiet. His ability to make something out of absolutely nothing is what sets him apart.
Jeonbuk aren't short of quality either, with Leonardo a constant threat, especially from set pieces, along with former Cardiff and Wigan midfielder Kim Bo-kyung and Lee Dong-gook. But Abdulrahman is at another level altogether.
If they can find a way to stopping 'Amoory', then they'll be well on their way to winning their second AFC Champions League title, a decade after their first success.
Only one player from that 2006 squad remains at Jeonbuk - goalkeeper and current captain Kwon Sun-tae - but ten years on Choi Kang-hee is still in charge.
While their domestic campaign ended in a whimper, winning only three of their last ten matches and losing to FC Seoul on the final day to concede top spot, according to Choi the AFC Champions League has been their number one target all season.
"When we gathered for pre-season in January, I told the players that our target was to win the AFC Champions League. To get to the final is a big deal for us," Choi told the-afc.com in a recent interview.
"We still feel the pain of five years ago. These are painful memories and we are delighted to have the chance to play in another final.
"The final of this kind of competition is a big game and failing to win is hard. You can try to forget about it but it stays in your mind for a long time."
Choi will be having many sleepless nights in the build-up thinking about he to stop Abdulrahman. He'll be hoping they don't turn into nightmares in years to come.
Copyright: Paul Williams & Soccerphile.com
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