Doha, 5 January 2023 - As the opening of the 25th Arab Gulf Cup hosted by the Iraq city of Basra during Jan. 6-19, 2023 draws near, the tournament is reminiscent of the footballers who shined with their teams and left an unforgettable mark in the history of the tournament.
In addition, the stars of the Qatari national team have made a striking presence on an individual level since the first edition that kicked off in Bahrain when Khaled Ballan won the trophy for the best footballer, followed by Mohammed Ghanem who was crowned the best footballer in the third edition in Kuwait in 1974. However, despite the absence of winning the trophies, the emergence of the Qatar national team was perfect when the 11th edition was hosted by Doha in 1992, where Al-Annabi captured the title, followed by Mubarak Mostafa winning the top scorer and player of the tournament award in 1992.
Mahmoud Sofi maintained a special place in the individual trophies in the 12th edition which kicked off in the United Arab Emirates in 1994, after he was co-partner in the top scorer bracket.
In the second tournament back in 1972 held in Saudi Arabia, Saeed Ghorab won the top scorer trophy with 5 goals, while the best Kuwaiti player was awarded to Farouk Ibrahim and the best Saudi goalkeeper was given to Ahmed Eid.
Back in 1974 held in Kuwait, 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.
Kuwaiti Jassim Yaqoub returned to win the top scorer award during the fourth edition held in Qatar in 1976, 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 12th edition(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.
Qatar's Mohammed Salem Al Anzi won the trophy for top scorer with 4 goals during the 13th Gulf Cup back in 1996 in Oman, as Kuwaiti Abdullah and Baran won the trophy for best player, while the Qatari Younis Ahmed won the trophy for best goalkeeper.
Kuwaiti Jassim Al-Huwaidi was crowned the top scorer with 9 goals in 1998, 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 edition of the championship (Saudi Arabia 2002), Omani Hani Al-Dabit won the top scorer title with 5 goals, while Qatar's Jaffal Rashid won the best player trophy, and Mohammed Al-Deayea of Saudi Arabia won the best goalkeeper trophy for the second time in a row.
During the 16th edition (Kuwait 2003), Talal Youssef won the top scorer trophy with 5 goals, and his colleague Mohammed Salmeen won the best player trophy as Omani Ali Al Habsi won the best goalkeeper.
The 17th Arab Gulf Cup (Qatar 2004) saw Amad Al Hosni won the trophy for the top 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 previous edition held in Qatar, Emirati Ali Mabkhout won the top scorer for s second time with 5 goals, while Saudi Abdullah Atif won the best player and Saudi Fawaz Al-Qarni won the best goalkeeper.
