{"id":600,"date":"2019-10-28T05:34:13","date_gmt":"2019-10-27T19:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/box5786.temp.domains\/~theasid4\/?p=600"},"modified":"2026-09-23T13:10:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T03:40:53","slug":"lights-of-rome-remembering-uaes-golden-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/lights-of-rome-remembering-uaes-golden-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Lights of Rome&#8217;: Remembering UAE&#8217;s golden generation"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 id=\"thirty-years-to-the-day-that-emirati-football-history-was-created-ali-khaled-looks-back-on-that-historic-day-in-singapore\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Thirty years to the day that Emirati football history was created, Ali Khaled looks back on that historic day in Singapore.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It would be wrong to say the dream was dying. There had been no dream to begin with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At an almost empty stadium, underneath the lashing rain and with\nweary, tired legs on a muddy pitch, the UAE were minutes away from a 1-0 defeat\nto China and, in all likelihood, the end of any hopes of making the 1990 World\nCup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moments later, they had recorded arguably the most important win\nin their history, certainly at the time, setting them on the road to the\ncountry\u2019s greatest ever football achievement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Only in those delirious moments after at the final whistle were\nthey finally able to start dreaming of rubbing shoulders with the world\u2019s best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the UAE embarked on the final qualifying group for the Italia\n1990, taking place in Singapore, expectations were close to non-existent. To\nsay they were the underdogs would be kind, and in many ways they were the least\nfancied team in the six-nation group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the UAE\nFootball Association and the man who had shaped Emirati football over the\nprevious decade, had resigned in the build-up to the campaign, leaving the\nsquad a rudderless ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\nuncertainty and negativity surrounding the trip to Singapore had trickled down\nto the players, who had looked upon Sheikh Hamdan as a \u201cspiritual\nfather\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To add to the farcical nature of their departure, two players\nalmost missed the flight, and, in the days before mobile phones, were luckily\nfound having lunch after they assumed the plane had already taken off without\nthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The UAE\u2019s participation was almost nothing more than a\n\u201ccontractual obligation\u201d, some of the players joked years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But one man believed. Legendary Brazilian coach Mario Zagallo, who\nhad replaced countryman Carlos Alberto Parreira the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parriera had almost pulled off the impossible four years earlier when the UAE conceded an injury time goal against Iraq to deny them a virtual passage to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico (the final hurdle against Syria was expected to be a formality for the UAE or Iraq).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/UAE-World-Cup-1990.jpg?resize=960%2C540&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-632\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/UAE-World-Cup-1990.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/UAE-World-Cup-1990.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/UAE-World-Cup-1990.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/UAE-World-Cup-1990.jpg?resize=678%2C381&amp;ssl=1 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Khalil Mubarak celebrates scoring the equaliser against China<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\nagonising elimination had hit a fine UAE team hard, and there was a sense of a\nonce-in-a-lifetime opportunity missed. It\u2019s not often underdogs get given\nsecond chances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The squad that flew out to Singapore was not held in the same\nesteem as the 1985 one, though it retained remained many of the same players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This rag-tag team of amateur players, made up of policemen,\nairport executives and civil servants and others may have had no obvious\nstrengths, but they knew how to dig in and fight. And in Adnan Al Talyani, they\nhad a winning card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the clock ticked down at the National Stadium in Singapore,\ncentre-half Khalil Mubarak scored with a header to tie the score with three\nminutes left. A minute later Al Talyani scored with a memorable left-footed\nstrike to seal an unlikely win. Even as the players piled on top of Zagallo,\nthey could not have realised they had changed the course of Emirati football\nhistory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A campaign that had started with a 0-0 draw against North Korea\nthat barely merited mention even in the Emirati sports pages, was suddenly\nfront page news back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The momentum from that minor miracle, however, was not built on,\nat least in any obvious way at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next match saw the UAE hold Asian champions Saudi Arabia in a 0-0\ndraw that could best be described as attritional. It was becoming clear that\nthat while this UAE team was organised, and slowly gaining in belief, scoring\ngoals remained a major problem despite the presence of Al Talyani and veteran\nAl Wasl forward Fahad Khamees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Elsewhere in the group, South Korea, as expected, were striding\nconfidently towards Italy. The rest of the teams, however, were showing\nremarkable inconsistency, which meant no clear second favourite was emerging\nfrom the pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The UAE and Qatar had a chance to stake a claim on October 24, but\nthat too, ended in a 1-1 draw. The UAE had taken a 20th minute lead, Mubarak\nscoring his second goal of the campaign, before Mansour Sulaiti scored a first\nhalf equaliser. Not for the first, or, as it would turn out, last time, the\nEmirati team had Muhsin Mussabah to thank for a heroic performance in goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The following day, South Korea secured their spot in Italy with a\n2-0 win over Saudi Arabia, a result that was in many ways ideal for the UAE.\nThey would now face a an already qualified, relaxed opponent in their final\nfixture, and it meant Saudi Arabia could not catch Zagallo\u2019s men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet four teams &#8211; UAE on five points, China on four, Qatar and North Korea on three (back then it was only two points for a win) &#8211;&nbsp;still stood a chance of glory on the final day, when three matches would take place simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=w0tJPpoEdL4\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">October\n28, 1989 would turn out to be one of the most dramatic days in Asian football\nhistory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By then, World Cup fever had well and truly spread across the\nseven emirates, but an almighty task still needed to be negotiated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saudi Arabia, with nothing to play for, belatedly found form and\nran out comfortable 2-0 winners against North Korea. The drama was taking place\nin the other two fixtures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Jurong Stadium, the UAE fell behind to a superb curling strike\nfrom Hwangbo Kwan after only eight minutes. They needed to find a goal from\nsomewhere, and quickly managed to pull themselves back into the match with a\nlooping header from Al Talyani on 16 minutes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">South Korea clearly were never going to give the UAE an easy ride,\nand at half time the score stood at 1-1, with Qatar and China scoreless in the\nother decider at the National Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As things stood, with the UAE on six points, China on five and Qatar\non four, the Emiratis were heading to the World Cup. However, there were many\npermutations that could see them eliminated, including wins for China and\nQatar, should they lose to the Koreans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Al Talyani joked years later, that with conflicting reports coming\nin from the other match, the UAE\u2019s game plan was swinging between defensive\ncaution and desperate attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The UAE, and Mussabah again, defended heroically in the second\nhalf. The match, again played in wet, muddy conditions, trudged towards a draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On 76 minutes Ma Lin gave China the lead, and hopes of a first\nWorld Cup participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As both matches entered their final minutes, the UAE needed a\ngoal, or a miracle in the other match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And they got one.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Qatar\u2019s Mahmoud Soufi scored an equaliser on 87 minutes, and\nsuddenly the UAE were back on track. They only needed to hang on for a few more\nseconds and pray that China did not score a late goal. The emotional scars of\nthat defeat Iraq four years earlier had not healed yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But they needn\u2019t have worried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mansour Muftah, Qatar\u2019s greatest ever footballer, scored a minute\nlater as, astonishingly, the scenario of China\u2019s loss to the UAE was repeated\nin identical circumstances.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the final whistle went at Jurong Stadium, there\nwere a few seconds of uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a id='oByv3CoETiVyaANni1ohrA' class='gie-single' href='https:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/72523936' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'oByv3CoETiVyaANni1ohrA',sig:'B0LnIpx3zYaIdRxF6CEfrpX4Og8TUGzz0-M3Bp_nRPE=',w:'594px',h:'390px',items:'72523936',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Emirati commentator Adnan Hamad, who would achieve fame on the\nback of this match, recalled 25 years later that a local journalist had stuck\nhis head inside the commentary box to tell him Qatar had won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His words, as it dawned on him what had just happened, are etched\nin the memories of all Emirati football fans of that era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI can see the lights of Rome now, I can see the lights of Rome\nnow,\u201d a sobbing Hamad screamed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The UAE, with a squad of players, all of whom were born before the\ncountry had even existed, had qualified for their first ever World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the pitch, the UAE\u2019s players wept too, and Zagallo was raised\non the shoulders of the coaching staff. The celebrations continued in the\ndressing room as players struggled to express their feelings to an equally\nemotional Hamad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Upon on their return to Abu Dhabi, they were invited to the\npresidential palace to meet the country\u2019s founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin\nSultan Al Nahyan.\n\nIn\nless than two weeks, they had gone from a group of amateurs that few had faith\nin, to the UAE\u2019s first Golden Generation.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\ndraw for the group stages of the 1990 World Cup in Italy could not have been\nharsher for the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eventual champions West Germany, and excellent Colombia and\nYugoslavia teams awaited them in Group D, the deathliest of groups of death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By the time the World Cup had come around Zagallo had been\nreplaced by Parreira, who had managed Kuwait at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Golden Generation may have put the UAE on the world media\u2019s\nradar, but they remained mostly a mystery. Mussabah even remembered being asked\nto point out his country on a map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Without question there was a sense of &#8220;happy to be\nthere&#8221; about their presence in Italy. But there was a determination to\nplay with pride in what was likely to be three unforgiving matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Against Colombia in the first match at Stadio Renato Dall\u2019Ara, Bologna, the UAE performed admirably to go in scoreless at half-time, having missed several presentable chances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a id='PHrq_xE2QyV5y_jcYnRaHg' class='gie-single' href='https:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/133243798' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'PHrq_xE2QyV5y_jcYnRaHg',sig:'9d_MoBI38pR7HebBiTdGa8_6PvgpRf2a83GdswiC7HY=',w:'594px',h:'424px',items:'133243798',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And even after Edurado Redin broke their resistance five minutes after the restart, they managed to hold on until five minutes from the end, when Colombian captain Carlos Valderrama scored to finally put the match to bed. Next up were mighty West Germany at the San Siro in Milan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As\nthe players warmed up before kick off a thunderstorm shook the stadium, and the\nGermans ran to the dressing rooms. The bemused Emirati players wondered what\nwas happening.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moments later, Lothar Matthaus and co emerged with new\nmetal-studded boots. The UAE players, in their moulded boots, were in for a\nlong afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mussabah, again outstanding, and his defenders slipped and slid\nacross the wet pitch but held out until the 35th minute when Rudi Voller\nscored. Two minutes later, Jurgen Klinsmann made it 2-0, and the expected\nthrashing was materialising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But there was one a ray of sunshine amid the storm. In the first\nminute of the second half Khalid Ismail took advantage of a mistake in the\nGerman defence to volley a fine goal past Bodo Illgner. It remains one of the\nmost cherished goals in UAE football history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The match finished 5-1, but considering the circumstances and the\nopposition, few begrudged the Emiratis their ovation at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The UAE wrapped up their World Cup with 4-1 loss to Yugoslavia,\nwith Al Thani scoring a powerful header to halve the deficit after 22 minutes.\nBut the team, understandably, had run out of steam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a id='XkRP4CHRT3pDDO7UfGfFhQ' class='gie-single' href='https:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/698302764' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'XkRP4CHRT3pDDO7UfGfFhQ',sig:'GJlzcaMH218Ygtg-ca0ndFdD0uMJ6-7JsrbYqBXoUnY=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'698302764',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three\nmatches, three expected defeats. But in many ways it didn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn those days if you qualified for the World Cup, you&#8217;d already\nwon,\u201d Parreira said of Middle East teams of that era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Talyani, Mussabah, Thani, Ismail, Fahad and Nasir Kahmees, the\nMeer twins Ibrahim and Eissa, Abdulrahman Al Haddad, captain Abdulrahman\nMohammed and the rest of the squad had written their names in Emirati, and\nAsian, football history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The UAE has produced better players since, and there have been\nhigh points that included an AFC Asian Cup final in 1996 and two Gulf Cup\ntriumphs in 2007 and 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But none can come close to that golden day back in 1989 when the UAE&#8217;s Golden Generation could see the lights of Rome all the way from Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"691\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Anwar-roma.png?resize=691%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-637\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Anwar-roma.png?resize=691%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 691w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Anwar-roma.png?resize=202%2C300&amp;ssl=1 202w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Anwar-roma.png?w=709&amp;ssl=1 709w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 691px) 100vw, 691px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The official promotional poster for the documentary &#8216;The Lights of Rome&#8217;, directed by Ali Khaled, documenting UAE&#8217;s historic World Cup qualification<\/figcaption><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thirty years to the day that Emirati football history was created, Ali Khaled looks back on that historic day in Singapore. It would be wrong to say the dream was dying. There had been no dream to begin with. At an almost empty stadium, underneath the lashing rain and with weary, tired legs on a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":590,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_gspb_post_css":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[94,512,92],"class_list":["post-600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-national-teams","tag-uae"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&#039;Lights of Rome&#039;: Remembering UAE&#039;s golden generation - The Asian Game<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/lights-of-rome-remembering-uaes-golden-generation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ro_RO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;Lights of Rome&#039;: Remembering UAE&#039;s golden generation - The Asian Game\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thirty years to the day that Emirati football history was created, Ali Khaled looks back on that historic day in Singapore. It would be wrong to say the dream was dying. There had been no dream to begin with. At an almost empty stadium, underneath the lashing rain and with weary, tired legs on a [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/lights-of-rome-remembering-uaes-golden-generation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Asian Game\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-10-27T19:04:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-23T03:40:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/UAE_1990.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"621\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ali Khaled\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@www.twitter.com\/AliKhaled_\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ali Khaled\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/lights-of-rome-remembering-uaes-golden-generation\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/lights-of-rome-remembering-uaes-golden-generation\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ali Khaled\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d198bb02e8b599bfa380ec2196ed30f8\"},\"headline\":\"&#8216;Lights of Rome&#8217;: Remembering UAE&#8217;s golden generation\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-27T19:04:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-23T03:40:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/lights-of-rome-remembering-uaes-golden-generation\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2016,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/lights-of-rome-remembering-uaes-golden-generation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/UAE_1990.jpeg?fit=1024%2C621&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"FIFA World Cup\",\"National Teams\",\"UAE\"],\"articleSection\":[\"FEATURE\"],\"inLanguage\":\"ro-RO\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/lights-of-rome-remembering-uaes-golden-generation\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/lights-of-rome-remembering-uaes-golden-generation\\\/\",\"name\":\"'Lights of Rome': Remembering UAE's golden generation - 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He has previously worked for The National, 7Days, and GQ Middle East, and has contributed to Al Arabiya English, CNN and Esquire Middle East. 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