When Almoez Ali steps onto the pitch for the hosts in the opening game of the World Cup on Sunday, die-hard LASK fans may remember a November evening in 2015. Back then, the Qatari scored his first and only goal in the 4-0 win against Linz in the second division game against FAC. The striker only spent six months in Austria, he didn’t come to Linz by chance.
At that time, the long arm from Doha reached as far as the steel city. Doha/Linz. In fact, Ali is a star student at Aspire Academy. Located in Ar-Rayyan near Doha, the faculty aims to develop Qatar’s most talented athletes into elite athletes. Ali was born in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, but he came to the emirate as a child and went to the academy at the age of ten. The youngster should fine-tune himself where the competition is greatest: in Europe’s leagues.
Joining the Belgian club KAS Eupen in 2014 at the age of almost 18 was not without reason. The club had been taken over by investors from Qatar two years earlier and made it the go-to place for professionals from Qatar. A year later, Ali’s journey continued to Austria, where he met his compatriot Assim Madibo. Six months earlier, LASK had announced its cooperation with the Aspire Academy and was invited to the emirate for the training camp in January 2015.
“We also want to become more international in terms of youth,” said then sports director Jürgen Werner to the “OÖ Nachrichten” at the time. With the second team in the regional league, LASK also has “a good tool to develop these young talents”. Ali and Madibo were primarily used at SPG FC Pasching/LASK. While Ali made a total of nine competitive appearances under coach Oliver Glasner at the end of the autumn season, Madibo was only allowed to play for a quarter of an hour in the second division shirt. An objection was then received from Qatar.
In January 2016, the Qatari duo was history again for the Linzers. As the LASK announced on request, there were discrepancies in the view of the cooperation. The club said in a written statement that “a (non-fulfillable) regular place guarantee was insisted on”. “Both players have also had to be released regularly for training sessions with the Qatar national team.” Apparently also outside of the release obligation set by FIFA. The cooperation quickly came to an end.
For Ali and Madibo it was on to Spain. The third division club Cultural Leonesa is surprisingly owned by Qatar, while Aspire holds the clear majority of the club’s shares. The duo left only limited footsteps in Europe. After ten appearances, Ali returned to Qatar, where he still plays for Al-Duhail today.
In February 2019, Ali and Madibo won the Asian Cup with Qatar, making it the small country’s first major title. The striker scored nine times and in the final victory over Japan (3-1) he opened the scoring with an overhead kick and broke Iran’s legend Ali Daei’s goal record. Never before had a player written so often in an Asian Cup tournament. He received praise from the highest authority. Jose Mourinho, then a pundit for Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports, said: “He’s an excellent player who can play abroad. Almoez has everything it takes.” Three and a half years later, the 1.80m man is still playing in Doha – now at the World Cup.
Source: Nachrichten
