Theyab Awana Ahmed Husain Al Messabi ( ar, ذياب عوانة أحمد حسين المصعبي;‎ 8 April 1990 – 25 September 2011), or simply Theyab Awana, was an Emirati professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a winger for

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League ( ar, دوري المحترفين الإماراتي), known for sponsorship reasons as the ADNOC Pro League, is the top professional football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first team to win the title was Al ...

club

Baniyas Baniyas ( ar, بَانِيَاس ') is a Mediterranean coastal city in Tartous Governorate, northwestern Syria, located south of Latakia (ancient Laodicea) and north of Tartous (ancient Tortosa). It is known for its citrus fruit orchards an ...

and the United Arab Emirates national team. His playing style and ability drew comparisons to former Emirati international

Zuhair Bakhit Zuhair Saeed Bakheet-Bilal ( ar, زهير بخيت, also spelled as Bakhit;
. Rsssf.com (15 August 2005). Retrieved on 8 March 20 ...

International career

Youth

Theyab played for the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

(UAE) in the first match of the

2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which was hosted by Egypt from 24 September to 16 October 2009. The tournament was initially going to take place between 10 and 31 July. However, the 2009 FIFA Confedera ...

, against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

. 2–0 down in the 90th minute of play, Hamdan Al Kamali converted a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalt ...

to make the score 2–1 in the first minute of stoppage time; Theyab scored from a cross from Ahmed Ali to snatch a last-minute equalizer before the final whistle a few seconds later.

Senior

Theyab was brought to worldwide fame for the penalty kick scored with a back-heel in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

on 17 July 2011. In the 78th minute, with the score at 5–2, a penalty was given to the UAE. Theyab took the penalty and, halfway through his path to the ball, he turned around and kicked the ball into the goal with his right heel. The coach reacted badly on the effort, and Theyab was immediately subbed off for the bad reception he received for the penalty. The incident was brought to prominence after a video of the effort was put on

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, and currently has over 2,800,000 views. The match ended 6–2 for the UAE.

Death and legacy

Awana died on 25 September 2011, aged 21, in a car accident in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. According to reports, the accident happened at the

Sheikh Zayed Bridge Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...

when he was returning to Abu Dhabi from Al Ain after the end of a training session for the national team. The report stated he was using his phone at the time of the accident. Awana died at the scene. Rumors appeared that stated that his brother was with him in the car during the time of the accident, and entered the intensive care unit before dying several hours later. However, Baniyas Club denied this rumor. He was buried on 26 September 2011, immediately after the

Asr prayer The Asr prayer ( ar, صلاة العصر ', "afternoon prayer") is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayer). As an Islamic day starts at sunset, the Asr prayer is technically the fifth prayer of the day. If counted from midnight, it i ...

, in the Baniyas Cemetery in Shamkha, Abu Dhabi. A month after Awana's death, the

United Arab Emirates Football Association The United Arab Emirates Football Association (UAEFA; ar, الاتحاد الاماراتي لكرة القدم) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer and futsal in the United Arab Emirates. Association staff President ...

renamed its new stadium in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics ...

the "Theyab Awana Stadium"; a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a Place of worship, place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) ...

in the

Kuwait Football Association The Kuwait Football Association ( ar, الإتحاد الكويتي لكرة القدم) is the governing body of football in Kuwait. Kuwait has thrice been suspended by FIFA for political interference since 2007 and were allowed to participate ...

Stadium was also named after him.

Career statistics

Club

International

: ''Scores and results list the United Arab Emirates's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Awana goal''.

Honours

Baniyas * UAE Division 2 Group A: 2008–09 United Arab Emitates U17 *

GCC U-17 Championship The GCC U-17 Championship is an annual international football competition organised by the Gulf Cooperation Council. 2001 was the first edition of the tournament and was played in a round-robin group of five nations. Records The 2014 edition ha ...

: 2006 United Arab Emirates U19 *

AFC U-19 Championship The AFC U-20 Asian Cup, formerly known as the AFC Youth Championship and AFC U-19 Championship, is a biennial international association football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-20 national teams ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

United Arab Emirates U23 *

GCC U-23 Championship The GCC U-23 Championship is an annual international football competition organised by the Gulf Cooperation Council. The first edition of the tournament was held in 2008 and was played in a round-robin group of five nations. Records ' A round ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until th ...

Silver Medal:

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Awana, Theyab 1990 births 2011 deaths People from Abu Dhabi Emirati footballers Association football wingers Baniyas Club players UAE First Division League players UAE Pro League players United Arab Emirates youth international footballers United Arab Emirates international footballers 2011 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in football Asian Games silver medalists for the United Arab Emirates Road incident deaths in the United Arab Emirates