Adnan Al Talyani

Adnan Khamis Mohammed Obaid Al-Talyani Al Suwaidi (Arabic: عدنان خميس محمد عبيد الطلياني السويدي; born 30 October 1964) is a retired footballer from the United Arab Emirates who played as a forward for the UAE Football League club Al Shaab and the United Arab Emirates national team. for which he is regarded one of the best football players in the UAE and considered one of the best goal scorers in the history of the UAE League and the national team.^[1]

In this Arabic name, the surname is Al-Talyani.

Adnan Khamees Al-Talyani

Adnan Al-Talyani in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Adnan Khamis Mohammed Obaid Al-Talyani Al Suwaidi
Date of birth	(1964-10-30) 30 October 1964 (age 60)
Place of birth	Sharjah, Trucial States
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1979–1999	Al-Shaab	563	(133)
International career
1982–1997	United Arab Emirates	161	(52)
Medal record Men's football Representing  United Arab Emirates AFC Asian Cup Runner-up 1996 AFC Asian Cup WAFF U-18 Championship Winner 1982 WAFF U-18 Championship Arabian Gulf Cup Runner-up 1986 Arabian Gulf Cup Runner-up 1988 Arabian Gulf Cup Runner-up 1994 Arabian Gulf Cup
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life

Adnan was born in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates on 30 October 1964. In 1979, Al Talyani joined Al Shaab club volleyball team. In his free time he would go with his friends and family in Sharjah street's and play football. Adnan's older brother Nasser Al Talyani is also a football player and played as a midfielder in Al Shaab football team. There was a tournament that took place every year in the club and in 1979 Al Talyani played in the tournament and scored many goals. It caught attentions of Al Shaab owner Sheikh Faisal bin Khalid bin Mohammed Al Qassimi and convinced him to join the football team. He joined Al Shaab Team in 1980 and played besides his brother Nasser. Al Talyani has 3 boys. His sons are Hamdan, Hamad (born 1995), and Mohammed (born 1998). They have all participated in Talyani's retirement celebration in 2003.

Playing career

Club

Talyani started playing football in the 1970s in the streets Sharjah. He joined Al Shaab Club in 1979, and played out his entire club career there until 1999. Although he received many lucrative offers from other clubs, strict restrictions at the time prohibited Talyani from transferring.^[2]

International

Upon the selection of Heshmat Mohajerani (the former trainer of the Iran national team) as the trainer of the UAE national team, Talyani was selected as a member of the team. He retired from international football in 1997 as the all-time leader in international appearances, with 161 and 56 goals.^[3] As of March 2016, he was tenth on the all-time list for men.

1990 FIFA World Cup Qualification

The UAE national team’s qualification for the 1990 World Cup was and remains the most important achievement in the history of Emirati football, and Al Talyani played a major role in this qualification. The UAE did not qualify easily, after facing several obstacles on its way, the most important of which was in the first round, during the confrontation with the Kuwait national team. The UAE entered the 3rd match of the first stage in the qualification against the Kuwait national team and it's required to win to compensate for its 3-2 loss in the first round and to disrupt the top competitor at the time. Al Talyani scored the victory goal to win 1-0 vs Kuwait and the national team took the lead in the group. Then Al Talyani led the UAE 4-1 victory over Pakistan, to ensure his country qualified for the second stage. The second and final stage included 6 teams participating in a one-round tournament that qualified the first and second for the finals, which is what the UAE and South Korean did. The UAE only achieved a lonely victory in the decisive stage, with a score of 2-1 over China, scored by Al Talyani in the 88th minute, to turn the match from 1-0 down to win 2-1. Al Talyani's second goal in the final stage gave the UAE a 1-1 draw with South Korea, in the last round, so that the UAE won the sixth point and qualified for the World Cup for the first time in the country's history. Al Talyani participated in all of the UAE World Cup matches against Colombia, Germany, and Yugoslavia.

1996 AFC Asian Cup

Six years after their historic World Cup 90 debut, the UAE was preparing for another once-in-a-lifetime tournament. The UAE was to host the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in its history, and the hopes of a country stood on the shoulders of a team that featured “Generation 90” veterans such as Al Talyani and goalkeeper Muhsen Musabbeh, as well as youngsters such as Munther Ali. At the age of 32, Al Talyani scored two vital goals: one at Kuwait, which ended 3-2 for the UAE and the goal remains one of the most unforgettable goals in UAE history, and another in Indonesia, which ended in a 2-0 win for the UAE.

The Final Match at Asian cup 1996, they faced Saudi Arabia in front of 60,000 fans at Zayed Sports City. The Saudis had previously won the trophy twice, but had lost the previous edition's final to Japan in 1992. As the game entered extra time with a goalless tie, Al Talyani was withdrawn because his legs couldn't handle another 120 minutes of action after playing the full 90 minutes in the semi-final against Kuwait. The teams had to be divided by penalty shoot-outs, and the Emiratis lost in the end.^[4]

Honours

Al Shaab

• UAE President's Cup: 1992–93
• UAE Super Cup: 1993
• Asian Cup Winners' Cup: Second Place 1994-95
• UAE First Division League: 1992–93, 1997–98

United Arab Emirates

• AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 1996; fourth place: 1992

Individual

• UAE Football League Top Scorer: 1984-85
• UAE Football League Top Scorer: 1986-87
• Asian Cup Winners' Cup: Best Player: 1994-95
• Asian Footballer of the Year: 3rd in 1990
• Best Arabic Player: 1989
• UAE First Division League: Top Scorer: 1992–93
• UAE Football League: 1992–93 Best Player
• UAE Player of the Century

Career statistics

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	14 August 1982	Kuala Lumpur	Indonesia	1–1	2–1	Merdeka Tournament
2				2–1
3	10 October 1983	Riyadh	Iraq	1–1	2–2	1984 Summer Olympics AFC qualification
4				2–2
5	14 November 1983	Riyadh	Bahrain	1–1	1–2	Friendly match
6	10 March 1984	Royal Oman Police Stadium, Muscat	Kuwait	1–0	2–0	1984 Gulf Cup
7	12 March 1984	Royal Oman Police Stadium, Muscat	Qatar	1–0	1–0	1984 Gulf Cup
8	24 October 1984	Jeddah	Oman	4–0	8–0	1984 AFC Asian Cup qualification
9				6–0
10	26 October 1984	Jeddah	Nepal	3–0	11–0	1984 AFC Asian Cup qualification
11				7–0
12				9–0
13	28 October 1984	Jeddah	Sri Lanka	1–0	5–1	1984 AFC Asian Cup qualification
14				3–0
15				4–1
16	4 December 1984	Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore	India	1–0	2–0	1984 Asian Cup
17	7 April 1985	Bahrain	Syria	1–0	4–0	Friendly match
18				2–0
19	5 August 1985	Bahrain	Algeria	1–0	1–0	Friendly tournament
20	20 September 1985	Al-Rashid Stadium, Dubai	Iraq	1–0	2–3	1986 World Cup qualification
21	27 September 1985	King Fahd Stadium, Taif	Iraq	2–0	2–1	1986 World Cup qualification
22	24 March 1986	Bahrain National Stadium, Manama	Iraq	2–2	2–2	1986 Gulf Cup
23	2 April 1986	Bahrain National Stadium, Manama	Saudi Arabia	2–0	2–0	1986 Gulf Cup
24	7 April 1986	Bahrain National Stadium, Manama	Qatar	2–0	2–3	1986 Gulf Cup
25	21 September 1986	Daegu Stadium, Daegu	Pakistan	1–0	1–0	1986 Asian Games
26	23 September 1986	Daegu Stadium, Daegu	Thailand	2–1	2–1	1986 Asian Games
27	25 September 1986	Daegu Stadium, Daegu	Iraq	1–0	1–0	1986 Asian Games
28	30 January 1988	Abu Dhabi	Japan	1–0	2–0	Friendly match
29	7 February 1988	Abu Dhabi	North Yemen	2–0	2–1	1988 AFC Asian Cup qualification
30	13 February 1988	Abu Dhabi	India	2–0	3–0	1988 AFC Asian Cup qualification
31	17 March 1988	King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh	Oman	1–0	1–0	1988 Gulf Cup
32	17 November 1988	Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah	Jordan	2–0	2–1	Friendly match
33	3 February 1989	Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah	Kuwait	1–0	1-0	1990 World Cup qualification
34	10 February 1989	Islamabad	Pakistan	3–0	4–1	1990 World Cup qualification
35	17 October 1989	National Stadium, Singapore	China	2–1	2–1	1990 World Cup qualification
36	28 October 1989	Darul Makmur Stadium, Kuantan	South Korea	1–1	1–1	1990 World Cup qualification
37	14 Feb 1990	Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai	Sweden	2–1	2–1	Friendly match
38	30 May 1992	Al Ain	Bahrain	3–0	3–1	1992 Asian Cup qualification
39	20 February 1993	Dubai	Bulgaria	1–3	1–3	Friendly match
40	8 April 1993	Kyoto, Japan	Sri Lanka	2–0	4-0	1994 World Cup qualification
41	28 April 1993	Dubai	Sri Lanka	2–0	3-0	1994 World Cup qualification
42	30 April 1993	Dubai	Thailand	2–0	2-1	1994 World Cup qualification
43	3 May 1993	Dubai	Bangladesh	1–0	7-0	1994 World Cup qualification
44				6–0
45	3 October 1994	Athletic Stadium, Miyoshi	Japan	1–0	1-1	1994 Asian Games
46	5 October 1994	Hiroshima Stadium, Hiroshima	Myanmar	1–0	2-0	1994 Asian Games
47				2–0
48	9 October 1994	Bingo Athletic Stadium, Onomichi	Qatar	2–2	2-2	1994 Asian Games
49	11 October 1994	Regional Park Stadium, Hiroshima	Kuwait	1–1	1-2	1994 Asian Games
50	3 November 1994	Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi	Qatar	1–0	2–0	1994 Gulf Cup
51	9 November 1994	Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi	Kuwait	2–0	2–0	1994 Gulf Cup
52	19 March 1996	Dubai	South Korea	2–2	3–2	Friendly match
53	22 October 1996	Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat	Kuwait	2–1	2–1	1996 Gulf Cup
54	19 November 1996	Abu Dhabi	Uzbekistan	2–1	4–2	Friendly match
55				3–1
56				4–1
57	26 November 1996	Abu Dhabi	Syria	1–1	1–1	Friendly match
58	7 December 1996	Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi	Kuwait	2–2	3–2	1996 Asian Cup
59	10 December 1996	Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi	Indonesia	2–0	2–0	1996 Asian Cup
X	1 ِApril 1997	Abu Dhabi	Nepal	2–0	4–0	Unofficial friendly
X				4–0
60	26 April 1997	Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah	Jordan	1–0	2–0	1998 World Cup qualification
61	27 September 1997	Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi	Uzbekistan	3–1	3–2	1998 World Cup qualification
62	17 December 1997	King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh	Czech Republic	1–6	1–6	1997 Confederations Cup

Legacy

The 1996 AFC Asian Cup remains to date the UAE’s greatest footballing achievement alongside competing in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Al Talyani was a crucial part of both achievements. And will thus be remembered as his nation’s finest and one of Asian football’s greatest icons.^[5]

Retirement

Talyani officially retired from football in January 2003. A testimonial match was played in his honour between Italian champions Juventus and an All-Star team of players from various countries.^[6] He has since been named the UAE's Player of the Century.^[7]

See also

• Biography portal

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
• List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals
• Asian Footballer of the Year
• List of one-club men

References

1. "Adnan Al Talyani: National Sports Day is a unique community event". Sharjah 24. 9 March 2019.
2. "First professional season means major change for all". Gulf News. 12 September 2008. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
3. Adnan Khamees Al-Talyani - Century of International Appearances - RSSSF
4. "Asian Icons: Adnan Al Talyani (UAE)". the-afc. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
5. "Asian Icons: Adnan Al Talyani (UAE)". the-afc. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
6. "Juventus for Al Talyani testimonial". Gulf News. 14 November 2002. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
7. "UAE backed to end goal drought against Kuwait". Gulf News. 5 February 2008. Archived from the original on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2009.

External links

• Adnan Al Talyani – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Adnan Al Talyani at National-Football-Teams.com