Kuala Lumpur: With the 2017 AFC Champions League Final first leg on Saturday, we focus on one of the key protagonists for each team. For Al Hilal, we profile leading scorer and star Syrian striker Omar Khribin.
Read our profile of Urawa Red Diamonds playmaker Yosuke Kashiwagi HERE.
A tense aura weighed on Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium as Al Hilal players sat on the dugout preparing for their final training session ahead of the big game. The coaching staff roamed around the field setting up training cones as the players got themselves familiarised with the ground, their home for the AFC Champions League first leg semi-final against Iran’s Persepolis.
Players chatted away by the touchline, tying their laces or taking sips of water. A few seconds later, he emerged from the tunnel nonchalantly joggling a ball as he walked into the pitch. There was an air of confidence about the number 77, something that can easily be mistaken for arrogance. Omar Khribindidn’t seem to be bothered by the weight of expectations nor the 38-degrees heat.
“Yes, it is a stepping stone to bigger things,” prophetically admitted Khribin as he addressed the gathered media at his unveiling as an Al Dhafra player in January 2016. A deal that had made him the most expensive Syrian player at the time, costing the Emirati side US$1 million at the time. This is how he was since the early days of childhood in Damascus, watching his older brother Mohammed and the neighbourhood kids kick a ball about, Khribin thought “I will be good at this.”
A steely determination to be successful is masked under offhand bluntness. A quality that has always set Omar apart from his peers, keeping him focused on targets both on and off the pitch as he meteorically rose to the top.
“The most outstanding quality about Omar is his ambition,” noted Persepolis midfielder Bashar Resan, a close friend of Khribin.
“He is always thinking about the future and working towards his dreams. His commitment and determination are impressive,” continues Resan who played alongside Khribin at Air Force Club.
Khribin had been in the youth ranks at Damascus’ Al Wahda for six years when he was called up for his first team debut aged just 15, the youngest in the club history. Such was his talents that being the youngest became a constant feature in his career.
By the time he turned 18, Khribin was a member of the Syrian national team that won the 2012 WAFF Championship in Kuwait, again the youngest in Syria’s history. Soon enough, the boy was set for the next step in his career and a move to neighbouring Iraq beckoned. Air Force Club acquired Khribin’s services on loan and in Baghdad he partnered up with would-be 2016 AFC Cup top scorer Hammadi Ahmed to a devastating effect.
The Syrian finished his 20-games loan spell at Air Force Club with eight goals to his name, prompting fellow Iraqi side Al Minaa to sign him on another loan deal the following season. Contractual disagreements cut Khribin’s final season in Iraq short as he returned to Al Wahda before completing the Syrian record transfer to UAE minnows Al Dhafra.
Arriving at the desert outpost oil town of Madinat Zayed to join a side embroiled in a relegation battle can prove to be a mountain too high for any young player, but Syria’s first million-dollar footballer faced the challenge head on.
“It is one of the strongest leagues in Asia, I will get more exposure here where I can play against top players like Omar Abdulrahman and Ali Mabkhout”, remarked Khribin after joining Al Dhafra in January 2016. Ever the pragmatist, he set himself a challenge to lift the club from the danger zone and showcase his talents for bigger clubs who could be keeping an eye on the league in the UAE.
One year, 22 goals and one Fans’ Player of The Year award later, Khribin had not only helped Al Dhafra escape relegation, but also contributed to their highest ever league finish, ending the 2016/17 season at seventh place.
Once again, Khribin achieved what he had set out to do, quietly getting about his business and it was time to take the next step. One of many clubs that were impressed by the Syrian’s talents were Al Hilal, Khribin had previously lauded the Saudi league as one he would love to compete in. So, when the Riyadh powerhouse called, he was ready to answer. A loan deal was in place and King Fahd Stadium became his new home for the next six months.
‘Impress to Stay’ was Khribin’s mission and motto for his loan stint in Riyadh, and impress he did. Two weeks after his arrival at the Saudi capital, the number 77 broke his Al Hilal duck and from there on there was no stopping him. Against arch-rivals Al Ittihad in March, he endeared himself to the fans by scoring the second goal in a 3-1 win.
Derby matches can often make or break a new signing at a club, expectations are high and fans are in no mood to tolerate a defensive slip-up or a missed sitter. With that in mind, Khribin went into his first Riyadh derby in the final gameweek of the season. Al Hilal had already wrapped up the league title as they welcomed Al Nassr to King Fahd Stadium with one thing on their mind; to show their city rivals who the boss is. A defeat here would blemish an otherwise perfect league campaign.
Always one to relish a challenge, Khribin was at his lethal best form, Al Hilal turned the style on, putting five past their visitors and the Syrian made his mark on the history books with a derby hat-trick. A diving header in the first half was followed by a three-minute double salvo after the break to sign off his loan spell with style.
Had you asked any Al Hilal fan what did they make of Khribin’s US$5 million transfer fee after that derby performance, you would have gotten the same answer every single time: “Worth every penny.”
So, at the end of the 2016/17 season, it was a no brainer for Prince Nawaf bin Saad and his board to splash the cash and pay out Khribin’s release clause.
Six months on from that night in Riyadh, ask any ‘Hilali’ the same question and the answer would be: “It was undoubtedly a bargain.” Such were Khribin’s impressive performances as Al Hilal turned their attention to the valuable prize they had been chasing for years: the AFC Champions League.
Fifteen years since their last continental triumph, Al Hilal fans have developed an obsession with “The Seventh”. The club had won six titles across all AFC competitions in their history and all hopes are on the man carrying not one, but two sevens on his back. Al Hilal’s number 77 has been one of the brighter spots of the competition so far.
Sitting atop the goal scoring charts alongside Shanghai SIPG’s Hulk with nine goals to his name, the two semi-final clashes against Iran’s Persepolis saw the Syrian produce some of the finest individual performances the competition has ever seen. Five goals across the two legs crowned Khribin the disputed king of the Hilalis’ hearts.
“It is a stepping stone to bigger things,” Khribin’s statement from 20 months ago rings loud and clear as Al Hilal take on Urawa Red Diamonds for the top prize of Asian club football. Things don’t come bigger than this in Asia, but for the 23-year-old, the world is at his feet.
Over the two legs of the final, Khribin also has a chance to add another “youngest” accolade. A single goal might just be enough for the Syrian to become the youngest top goal scorer in the AFC Champions League’s history.
Photos: Lagardère Sports
Source: the-afc.com