Golden generation has arrived indeed

Abu Dhabi The UAE Olympic football team did a Houdini act and came back from 2-0 down to beat Uzbekistan and make history — reaching the finals of the Olympic Games for the first time in the country's history. It was a sweet victory for the way it was achieved and this generation of players deserve all credit for bringing joy and a sense of achievement to the UAE whenever they have taken part in regional, continental or international competitions. What makes the victory sweeter is the fact that it was achieved relying purely on UAE expertise as the team was led by Emirati coach Mahdi Ali who achieved what world-famous coaches like Carlos Alberto, Valerie Lobanovesky, Hishmat Muhajirani, Carlos Queiroz and Tomislav Ivic failed to do since the first participation of the UAE in the Olympic qualifiers in 1983, when they took on Iraq for a spot at the Los Angeles Games of 1984. Ahmad Khalil, the striker who did not score in all the previous matches of the qualifiers, reminded everyone of his outstanding capabilities and scored twice within four minutes to book the tickets for London this summer with his team needing just a single point to progress. His substitute Habboush Saleh went a step further and added the winner to ensure the UAE make the trip to Britain in style.  From gulfnews