Source : Khaleej Times

DUBAI — Jan. 30: UAE football finally came of age on a cool, crisp evening in the capital. And our dreams are finally coming true.

Watched by The President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and a standing room only crowd at the Zayed Sports City stadium, UAE got their hands on the prestigious Gulf Cup on the 18th attempt.

Thirty-five years of waiting was finally over.

The two-week long tournament started with the UAE against Oman. That match turned out to be the only hiccup in UAE’s campaign as our neighbours won that contest 2-1.

It ended with the UAE against Oman. But this time, when it mattered most, UAE’s Ismail Matar had his best scoring boots on and struck a beauty of a winner that sent seismic waves across the country and put the whole nation into party mode.

Amazing goals

In between Matar scored some amazing, opportunistic goals against the likes of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Those were classy strikes from a mercurial master striker. Five goals in all came off his scoring boots.

Except for the players themselves and a handful of people, no one really expected the UAE to climb such lofty heights, specially with the many Gulf football powers in the fray.

Bruno Metsu, the colourful Frenchman with the Midas touch, turned out to be a shrewd tactician. Initially playing down his team’s chances, Metsu moulded the team into a strong fighting unit who believed in themselves.

Pessimists predicted Mohammed Omar and his team-mates would fall by the wayside due to a lack of depth in the squad. But they proved them all wrong as they performed minor miracles after miracles during the tournament.

Metsu’s stock, which had risen considerably after he converted to Islam, will skyrocket now. The coach with lovely, long tresses could ask for anything and it will be delivered to him on a platter.

Hard work

The hard work actually begins now. UAE should build on this success and go from strength to strength. And Metsu can be entrusted with this job; to guide UAE to the next World Cup finals and to greater glory.

The Frenchman nearly pulled off his hair during the first-half when UAE’s domination was not being converted into goals or near chances.

But then came Matar’s awesome strike and Metsu’s frayed nerves were calmed. When the final whistle blew, the noise the fans in the stadium made could have been heard all the way to the other end of the country.

Cars roamed through the streets with klaxons blaring and waving flags. The old, the young and the women, specially the women, partied like there was no tomorrow.

It has been two great weeks of football. And it ended the way we all wanted it to end. UAE are champions.