Oman- Great gift for my family and fans: Kanu

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) It was a week of celebrations for Oman captain Ahmed Mubarak 'Kanu'. Not only did he win two man-of-the-match awards on his way to holding the Gulf Cup trophy, the 32 year old also was named the best player award of the 23rd Gulf Cup that concluded in Kuwait on Friday.

Having played 153 internationals, Kanu's inspirational captaincy was the bedrock of Oman's title win in the absence of regular captain Ali al Habsi.

Kanu scored the winning goal against Kuwait to win the man-of-the-match and then again, in the semifinal against Bahrain, he led by example to win his second man-of-the-match award.

It was a week of joy for the Oman captain as he became a father on the day Oman defeated Bahrain 1-0 in the semis.

'I am delighted as I have won the Gulf Cup trophy after a long time and I have also become a proud father,' he said. 'The final against UAE was a tough match and despite missing chances in the match, we never gave up. We kept on trying and eventually succeeded,' said Kanu, who received the best player trophy and the coveted Gulf Cup from Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber bin Mubarak al Sabah.

'Credit goes to my teammates who have all fought hard and helped me play well. UAE is a strong team and applied a lot of pressure on us, but we managed to pull it off.'

'I am delighted to bring the trophy home. It is a great gift for my family and for our fans,' said the veteran midfielder.

Having played his eighth Gulf Cup, Kanu is a vital cog in the team that reached the Gulf Cup final in 2004 and 2007, losing twice before finally winning the title on home turf in 2009 alongside Ali al Habsi.

Habsi missed the opportunity to make a fourth appearance in the final, as his Saudi club side Al Hilal refused to make him available for national team duty. Habsi's absence meant that Kanu got a rare distinction of being the only Omani to feature in all four Gulf Cup finals.

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