The Ali cult

In a country that adores its footballers, Ali al Habsi has been Oman’s greatest sporting icon for a period of 15 years.

For an individual, who once worked as a fireman at the old Muscat airport in Seeb, the calm and affable exterior masks his steely inner resolve as a professional footballer for Oman down the ages.

After leading the Sultanate to the historic 2009 Arabian Gulf Cup triumph on home soil, the cult of Ali had just begun.

In my personal interactions with Ali at the 2014 Arabian Gulf Cup and at multiple events in Oman, the legend’s humility and insight stood out the most.

Ali has a keen sense of the game having played for Oman for a decade and a half and that came through in his interactions with the media.

Having honed his goalkeeping skills and polished it in the highly competitive English club scene, Ali’s years with Bolton Wanderers from 2006-2011 and Wigan Athletic (2011-15) helped establish himself as the Premier League’s top goalkeepers.

The hardyards that he did in England and the invaluable experience gained there helped Ali bring some of those attributes to the Oman national team.

The nurturing of young, emerging goalkeepers in the Oman national team set up, notably that of Fayez al Rushaidi, has been a strong point of Ali.

Fayez had a hugely successful Arabian Gulf Cup in 2017/18 in Kuwait where he made some tremendous saves in the knockout stages for Oman. Ali would be very proud of the development of Fayez as Oman’s emerging premier goalkeeper and hopefully as his worthy successor.

Ali’s legend is firmly established in the Omani psyche and as someone who covered him over the last six years, it was a pleasure to be part of that journey.

Wishing you all the very best as you move ahead, Ali. Good luck!.