The 23-year-old soccer star from Dubai's Satwa

To the capacity crowd he was ‘Adel, Adel, Adel'. To his friends and teammates he is ‘Habibi'. But to coach Marcelo Mendes he is simply ‘my boy from Satwa'. Meet Adel Ali Ranjbar, the UAE player who caused a stir at the 2011 Fifa Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup that concluded at The Walk JBR last Saturday. Hailing from Satwa, Ranjbar's tale is one of hard work, toil and not too many opportunities in life, but a burning passion for a sport he will surely walk among the greats of in the not too distant future. At 23, the diminutive UAE star has the beach soccer world at his feet. He had the courage to dream and, after a fine showing on the sands of Jumeirah last week, Ranjbar can afford to look at the bigger picture. "We were unfortunate to lose, but the UAE is still among the best four teams in the world today and no one can take that away from us," Ranjbar said after his team staged a remarkable recovery from 4-1 down to force an ultimately disappointing penalty shoot-out in the fight for third place against Switzerland last Saturday. "We should have shut off the match when we had our chances, but we did not do so. "And at this level you cannot escape. You pay for your mistakes." Growing up As a boy growing up in Satwa, Ranjbar was involved in the normal and mundane that goes along with that, waking up each day and going to school in the routine of life. But he simply hated the thought of school. He was happier playing football. With his older brother Fadhel Rahi as his guide, Ranjbar enrolled at Dubai's Al Nasr Club where he stayed until he was 19. At this time he met UAE beach soccer goalkeeper Humaid Jamal Al Beloushi, who encouraged Ranjbar to try out the sport. Encouraged with the steady progress he made with the game and with his teammates backing him, Ranjbar persisted in playing at the Dubai Municipality beach soccer pitch in Satwa and then in Jumeirah, making sure he kept on improving. It was at this time that the Dubai Sports Council launched its Fursan Inter-District Beach Soccer Championship in an attempt to tap into talent, keeping in mind it was hosting the 2009 Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup. Brazilian coach Mendes saw Ranjbar play and he liked what he saw. And the rest, as they say, is history, as Ranjbar made it to the UAE squad for the 2009 World Cup. "For me beach soccer is my lifeline," he said. Turning professional "It is something that has given me everything today. I did not finish schooling simply because I love this sport so much. For me this is life and I want to live it fully. I want to be a professional beach soccer player. I have age on my side. I have made an impression. Other coaches have seen me play and I am sure they have liked what I have done here. "Now I want to continue improving each day and very soon start playing as a professional maybe in Europe or even in Brazil. "Time alone will decide."