The curious case of Umair

Feb 05, 2015 - 02:09:49 |
Mohamed Umair waiting in the tunnel at National Football Stadium before the match against PDRM FA in People's Cup.

Mohamed Umair came to prominence in Maldivian football as a defender but he earned more praise from the coaches and fans for his performances as a striker. In 2012, he showed his killer striker instinct with Victory becoming country's leading scorer. Despite not winning any silverware with the club he was named as the footballer of the season.

A move to league champions New Radiant came with high expectations from the fans and he undoubtedly delivered it all by scoring an astonishing 30 goals in the season well dominated by the legend Ali Ashfaq. However his form was an all time low in 2014 and only a shadow of the real Umair was seen throughout the season.

He was targeted by many fans of New Radiant throughout the games and the player was seen reacting to the boos of some fans. As a player it is frustrating to see his own fans going against him and some believed the player will part company with the club after the season a move the club may not be hesitated to agree after such a low form from the player.

Many might have been surprised to see New Radiant showing such confidence in Umair by handing over him the armband. Some clubs go on to media to show their support to players when they are struggling but the move from New Radiant is a sign to encourage the player to regain his form but the early signs in the People's Cup was not encouraging.

And the disappointing pre season tournament turned out to be the final punch of his role in the club.

Some may argue the move by the club to allow him to leave the club to join their direct rivals is stupid but if we look at the whole picture this could be a win (for New Radiant fans), win (for New Radiant), win (for the player), win (for Maziya) situation.

But how? For the fans it is obvious they will no longer see the player they hate so much in recent games. For New Radiant it is obvious they cannot hold a player who is not happy at the club and that may start to create more problems within the team, for the sake of team spirit and unity (which was clearly not seen in the People's Cup) this may end up as a good decision for the club. For the player obviously he needs to enjoy his time with the team to perform at his best and looking at national team calendar, some great tournaments and games are on the agenda and he needs to perform better at club level to secure a place in the national team. For Maziya, they have added another high profiled player to an already strong squad.

With few months to really kick off the season, we are already starting to see the rivalry unfold off the pitch.

Can't wait for the new season.

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Hardy on Feb 05
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Good report
Ismail on Mar 03
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Umair is a very good player as a defence. but we dont like to see him as a forward and he cnnot perform that well as a forwrd.
zain on Mar 31
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Now umair has to go home he cant play will without ashfaq
footballmad on Apr 08
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Umair hasn't yet returned to his good old form, there are signs he's already becoming an asset for Maziya. Good luck in the new season to Umair and Maziya.
blues on Jun 13
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newradiant and the fans disrespected him , he deserve much more respect as a player.. he have done a lot of good for the club by scoring and assisting the team ,, he was then a leader in the pitch and now .. hope he will have a good season ahead :)
egon on Aug 06
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Wonder how much umair spends on hair gel to keep those spikes? Hair styling skills compared to international footballers > very good Fooballing skills compared to international footballers > lets say even european under 14 teams has more skills

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