Doha, January 04 (QNA) – As the opening of the 25th Arab Gulf Cup hosted by the Iraq city of Basra during Jan. 6-19, 2023 draws near, the event is a reminiscent of the names of footballers who shined with their teams and left indelible marks in the history of the tournament.
Over the 24 versions of the most ancient tournaments in the region that kicked off in 1970, there are many players and goalkeepers who shined and crowned with their distinct levels through winning the trophies of those editions.
In addition, the stars of the Qatari national team have made striking presence in the individual trophies since the first version that kicked off in Bahrain when Khaled Ballan won the trophy of the best footballers, followed by Mohammed Ghanem who was crowned the best footballer in the third edition in Kuwait in 1974. However, despite the absence from winning the trophies, the emergence of Qatar national team was perfect in the 11th version hosted by Doha in 1992, where the Qatari team recorded its presence in all the Arab Gulf Cup tournaments, with Al-Annabi winning the title, followed by the top scorer and player of the tournament in 1992 Mubarak Mostafa.
Mahmoud Sofi maintained a special place in the individual trophies in the 12th version kicked off in United Arab Emirates in 1994, after he was co-partner in the title of scorer, as the Qatari team maintained the title of scorer in the third version of the tournament consecutively, when Mohammed Salem Al Enazi was crowned in the 13th version in Kuwait in 1996.
In the second tournament Saudi Arabia 1972, Saeed Ghorab won the top scorer trophy with 5 goals, while the best Kuwaiti player was Farouk Ibrahim and the best Saudi goalkeeper Ahmed Eid.
In the third tournament Kuwait 1974, Jassim Yaqoub won the top scorer trophy with 6 goals, Qatar’s Mohammed Ghanem won the best player trophy, and Kuwaiti Ahmed Trabelsi won the best goalkeeper award.
In the fourth tournament Qatar 1976, Kuwaiti Jassim Yaqoub returned to win the top scorer award for the second version in succession with 9 goals, while the best player trophy went to Saudi Khaled Al-Turki, and Bahraini Hammoud Sultan won the trophy for best goalkeeper.
In the 11th edition of the tournament Qatar 1992, the scorer Mubarak Mustafa won many championships and titles with the Qatari national team with 3 goals and had the trophy of the best footballer.
In the 17th Arab Gulf Cup Qatar 2004, Amad Al Hosni won the trophy of the best scorer with 4 goals, while the best player trophy went to Bahraini Talal Youssef, and Omani Ali Al Habsi returned to win the trophy for best goalkeeper.
In the 12th championship UAE 1994, Mahmoud Soufi and the Saudi Fouad Anwar shared the title of top scorer in the tournament with four goals for each of them, while the best player trophy went to the Emirati Mohammed Ali, and the Emirati Mohsen Musabih who won the best goalkeeper trophy.
In the 13th Oman 1996, the Qatari Mohammed Salem Al Anzi won the trophy for top scorer with 4 goals, and the Kuwaiti Abdullah and Baran won the trophy for best player, while the Qatari Younis Ahmed won the trophy for best goalkeeper.
In the 14th championship Bahrain 1998, Kuwaiti Jassim Al-Huwaidi was crowned top scorer with 9 goals, while his teammate Badr Hajji won the best player trophy, and Saudi Mohammed Al-Deayea won the trophy for best goalkeeper in the tournament.
In the 15th championship Saudi Arabia 2002, Omani Hani Al-Dabit won the top scorer title with 5 goals, while the Qatari Jaffal Rashid won the best player trophy, and the Saudi Mohammed Al-Deayea won the best goalkeeper trophy for the second edition in a row.
In the 16th championship Kuwait 2003, Bahraini Talal Youssef won the top scorer trophy with 5 goals, his colleague Mohammed Salmeen won the best player trophy, and Omani Ali Al Habsi won the best goalkeeper trophy.
In the 24th tournament Qatar 2019, Emirati Ali Mabkhout won the top scorer trophy for the second time with 5 goals, while Saudi Abdullah Atif won the best player trophy, and Saudi Fawaz Al-Qarni won the best goalkeeper trophy. (QNA)