The route Ahmed has taken to playing for the UAE at this tournament is nothing short of remarkable.
Born in Morocco and long courted by his country of birth, the 31 year-old has previously rejected overtures from two other nations before taking out Emirati citizenship and wearing the red and white strip of the Gulf state.
A nomadic football career that began as a teenager in his native land took him firstly to Yemen, then Bahrain, back to Morocco and, for the past five years, he’s been based in the inland city of Al Ain.
Adopting – or being adopted - is not an unusual story for many countries in the Middle East but Ahmed speaks of his journey with refreshing honesty.
“In my blood I am Moroccan, but now I play for the Emirates - this is normal, I can’t lie or something. Everybody knows I am from Morocco, I like my country, it is my country and in my blood the power is still running from Morocco,” he said.
“There were several times that Morocco tried to call me but I have a good boss at Al Ain who helped me and now people in Morocco, they understand that I have changed everything for my future and life and, god-willing, it’s good for me and my family.”
But it wasn’t always so; early in his career the lanky central-defender was heavily courted by Bahrain with an offer of money and citizenship, but he turned it down in a bid to play in his homeland, before a cruel twist of fate intervened.
“In Bahrain I was 19 or 20, and they started to call me and said they would give me anything, nationality or money. I said 'I don’t need to think about money, I know if I play well then money will come' but I just wanted to play and be a good player,” Ahmed revealed.
“Then I decided to stay and play in Morocco because it was a long time since I had played there and I wanted the fans to know me and in my very first game I played well and the national team called me from Morocco.
“I went to a competition with them but got injured and I was very angry because I wanted to play for the national team but then some big agents started calling me with offers from all over – some from big clubs like Raja in Morocco, two from Europe and then some, with big money, from the Gulf.”
What happened next is like a scene from a thriller. There was a deal arranged to head to the Gulf, but not wanting to tip off a furious public or media, his agent holed him up in an airport hotel and they flew out early the next morning under a cloak of darkness.
“The agent and I left and nobody knew because it might make problems for the national team. We stayed together and at five in the afternoon he told me, 'tomorrow you will travel' because we didn’t want the journalists to know,” Ahmed recalled.
“Then I realised we were going to Al Ain and we signed a provisional contract; there was a coach from Germany who liked me and then he told me they would give me a passport – this was at the same time that Omar Abdulrahman received his too.
“When Al Ain came and I went and I had many problems in my country, from journalists and so on shouting to me that I only went for the money but then nobody understood.
“Even my father didn’t understand because I had to change my name also – now my name is Ismail - but in UAE you must have 4 names and they changed it for me and my father was angry.
“I tried to explain and afterwards he understood that I had to change my life for my future and then people in Morocco also started to understand.”
Change his life he did – after starring for one of Asia’s biggest clubs, Al Ain, and completing the five years he had to wait to be eligible to turn out for the UAE, he finally made his debut last year.
So impressive were his recent performances that he was one of three players nominated for the prestigious Asian Player of the Year Award, but for now, it’s all about chasing continental glory with his adopted homeland.
“We need to focus because it will not be easy for us and it’s different when we play against the likes of Japan with tall, fast players,” he said.
“We have young players and quality players and a good national team and now we must give everything because the fans give us confidence and support us and step by step you must take everything, because after this tournament things can change, maybe a new coach will come, so this moment is the best moment for the UAE players to take this step and win the Asian Cup.”
