Adnan Al-Talyani, the volleyball player who piloted the Emirati football plane to the World Cup in Italy
One of the most famous names in the history of Emirati football, if not the most famous. When we talk about Emirati football, we can only remember him at the forefront. He is always at the forefront of the scene, and he deserves it. He is the legend of the Emirates, who scored his name in letters of light, the third historical scorer for Al-Abyad with a score of 129 A goal, with high skills and a leadership personality, who flew the whites to the World Cup in Italy, is the player of the century, Adnan Al-Taliani.
Adnan Al-Taliani was born in Sharjah on October 30, 1964, into a sports family. His brother Nasser was a football player, and his brother Muhammad was a handball player.
Al-Taliani began his relationship with sports as a volleyball player in Al-Shaab Club in 1979, and he even starred as the junior volleyball team, and he used to play football as a hobby with his friends in the streets of Sharjah and inside Al-Shaab Club.
But Al-Taliani’s football talent and ability to score and create goals caught the attention of Sheikh Faisal bin Khalid bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, president of the Al-Shaab Club at the time, so he asked him to join the football team, and that was a turning point in his career.
Al-Taliani began his career with the first team of Al-Shaab Club in 1981 at the age of 17, to play alongside his brother Nasser, and spent his football career with Al-Shaab Club, until his retirement in 1999, after a long career during which he played more than 200 games in the team’s shirt in various competitions, recording more than About 120 goals.
Al-Taliani won the UAE League title twice with Al-Shaab in 1993 and 1998, the President’s Cup and the UAE Super in 1993. He also contributed to Al-Shaab winning the silver medal in the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup in the 1994-1995 season, when he won the best player in the tournament.
Al-Talyani was crowned the top scorer in the UAE League in the 1984-1985 and 1987-1988 seasons, and won the best player award in the league in the 1992-1993 season, while he came third in the struggle for the best Asian player award in 1990.
Adnan Al-Talyani was famous for being a goal-machine. In one of the President’s Cup matches, the 1983-1984 season, he scored 9 goals in a big victory that Al-Shaab scored 12/0 against Fujairah.
Al-Taliani, accompanied by the Emirati Al-Abyad, participated in the 1986 World Cup qualifiers, which witnessed the Emirates team losing the climb card in the last meters, by losing with a legal goal away from the ground against Iraq, where he scored a goal in the loss 2/3 in the first leg, and the insufficient victory 2/1 in the second leg.
After 4 years, Al-Talyani compensated the Emirati fans with the historic ascent card to the 1990 World Cup, and scored 4 goals that contributed to ascending the top of the group in the first stage, then obtaining the rank of the final group.
Al-Taliani is the owner of the most expensive goal in the UAE’s journey to the 1990 World Cup qualifiers, and perhaps the most expensive in his career, which came in the 88th minute of the China match in the decisive role, to lead Al-Abyad to win 2-1 after being late with a goal without a response, and this was the only victory for the team in that stage.
After qualifying for the 1990 World Cup, Al-Taliani witnessed another historic achievement for the UAE team, reaching the 1996 Asian Cup final, but lost it at home on penalties against the Saudi Green.
Coach Heshmat Mohajrani included him in the national team in 1983, and during his international career he played 163 matches, during which he scored 53 goals, before announcing his international retirement in 1997.
Al-Taliani also participated in the Gulf Cup championships in 1984, 1986, 1988, 1994, 1996, and scored in all of those tournaments.
Achievements
Best Arab player 1989
Nominated for the Best Asian Player Award 1990
Rise to the 1990 World Cup
Best player in the 1995 Asian Cup Winners’ Cup
The best player in the UAE league season 1992/1993
League top scorer 1984/1985 season
Top scorer in the 1986/1987 season
The main reason for the UAE national team qualifying for the 1990 World Cup
The President’s Cup with the People’s Club 1992/1993 season
Super Cup with Al-Shaab Club 1992/1993 season
1995 Asian Cup Winners’ Cup Silver
1996 Asian Cup Silver
The player of the century in the Emirates
He held the record for scoring goals in one match in the President’s Cup with 9 goals against Dibba Al Fujairah in the 1983/1984 season.