Omar Abdulrahman … the best player nearly no one outside the UAE knows about.

He is really good, if he is allowed to play, and he has become the leader of the UAE national team, which plays host Saudi Arabia in the semifinals of the Gulf Cup of Nations tomorrow.

He dominated the final Group B match this week, against Iraq, which generally is a pretty tough side. Held the ball, did tricks with it, ran the Iraqis in circles. And also did all the talking in the pre-match huddle.

So, I was inspired to write a paean to Omar for The National. Not only is he a great entertainer, he has become the team’s captain without portfolio.

Other Omar facts:

The guy is tiny. Not only is he short, maybe 5-foot-6, he weighs almost nothing. His gigantic mop of hair may weigh more than the rest of him.

OK, he’s a little precious. Not only does he have the world’s biggest surviving Afro (and that includes Marouane Fellaini) … he wears a jersey that has holes in the ends of the sleeves so he can hook his thumbs in there.

He was born in Riyadh, capital of Saudi, so it will be interesting to see how he does in his return there.

The way the story goes, he was spotted as a teen, and Al Hilal, a Saudi team based in Riyadh, offered him a contract and Saudi citizenship — Omar’s parents are from Yemen. But UAE club Al Ain topped that with citizenship for the whole of his family.

Two of Omar’s brothers also play at Al Ain, and one of them, Mohammed, is with the national team.

He is still only 23, but seems older because he has been a key player for about five years. In 2011 he almost single-handedly kept Al Ain from relegation, which would have been unthinkable. Like Manchester United being relegated. That was when we recognized how good he was.

Some youtube tributes to him here and here and here.

He has wonky knees. Well, at least one. He misses chunks of time while he’s trying to get his knees going.

He impressed people at the 2012 London Olympics. His technical skills, in particular. He traded shirts with Ryan Giggs. And Luis Suarez.

In theory, European clubs have shown interest in him, but it’s hard to imagine he will ever leave — because Al Ain loves him too much … and pays him too well … and we all know Omar would break down physically if he tried to play a European season.

Anyway, he’s fun. I like him. You would, too, if you saw him play.