We all love them. Lists. The cheesiest website-hit-driving device ever created. Well, aside from “slide shows” of kittens or puppies.

After a long drought, we’re banging out a list,

Today, we’re going to go a little exotic here. My sense of the 10 best soccer players in the UAE — and we’re talking about Emiratis here, not the foreign imports. Totally different list, if we include those guys.

These are the top 10 players eligible for the UAE national team.

10. Theyab Awana, midfielder. A quirky pick to start things out, and picked here more for his potential than his accomplishments. Hasn’t played for the national team since his infamous backheel goal against Lebanon in July, which became a YouTube sensation … but he has a nose for the goal and probably would have been starting on the right side had he not been hurt, again. Only 21.

9. Yousef Jabar, defender. Plays on the left, comes forward quickly and with some elan. A decent man-marker. National team gave up six goals to Kuwait and Lebanon in two World Cup qualifying defeats, but I don’t remember him being culpable for more than maybe one of them.

8. Mohammed Al Shehhi, midfielder. Sort of a combo guy, an attacking mid or withdrawn forward. Has skills but shows them only in spurts. Still only 23 but plays older. Not a dependable player, but his talent level puts him in this list. The Wahda man had a very rough time against Kuwait and Lebanon, and was subbed out early in both games. But somewhere in there is still the capacity to score at any given time, and that counts for a lot here. Also leads the UAE in “volume of ‘product’ in his hair while on the pitch.”

7.Khalid Sabeel, defender. Plays on the right for Jazira and the national team, and is one of only two or three players in the country who brings a physical dimension to the game. The UAE’s “hard man” … also runs well and gets forward nicely. Had a rough time against Kuwait, especially, but he still should be in the national lineup, no question.

6. Ali Kasheif, goalkeeper. Majid Naser, the veteran keeper, got the starts in the two recent national team losses, but we believe that Kasheif would have been out there had he not been hurt. Kasheif is athletic and smart, and arguably was the single most valuable player for the country’s best club, Jazira, in 2010/11. He was missed as Kuwait and Lebanon combined to score six against Naser and the UAE.

5. Ismail Al Hammadi, midfielder. Some weird things about this guy. He does little or nothing with his club side, Al Ahli, though he generally starts. But he is huge with the national team, and was the one guy whose work rate and competitiveness stood out during the defeats to Kuwait and Lebanon. He was going full speed in the 90th minute. Little guy, usually works on the left, has trouble finishing, but he can win the ball, hold it and advance it, and his heart cannot be questioned.

4. Ismail Matar, forward. The Wahda veteran is getting up there in age (28), and the days of him scoring regularly for the national team ended a few years ago. But he is a cool head in a match, and the national team clearly missed him (knee surgery) this month. Credited with 26 career goals for the national side in his career.

3. Amer Abdulrahman, midfielder. Had two bad games for the national team this month as opponents made a priority of keeping him company,  but this is the playmaker of the future. Small, compact, good vision, can hold the ball in a crowd.

2. Ahmed Kahlil, striker. He is not this high off of recent performances; he was the one player singled out by former coach Srecko Katanec for being out of shape during the defeats to Kuwait and Lebanon, and he may not play much for his club team, Al Ahli. But this is the only guy in the country who qualifies as a legitimate scoring threat at the top of the attack. Excellent athlete.

1. Hamdan Al Kamali, defender. Already takes penalties for the national team. Was pursued by French Ligue 1 side Lyon. I was beginning to think he was a little overrated until he got hurt at the end of the Kuwait game, and was unavailable for the Lebanon game, and Lebanon scored three times. Yes, it took his absence to realize how good he is.