DUBAI: Maher Ali, an 18-year-old Egyptian representing UAE, took first place at the Red Bull Street Style UAE Finals that took place on Aug. 29 at the Mall of Emirates. Ali managed to outperform Abdullah Molvi (from Dubai) as he impressed the judges with his excellent skills and moves despite his injured leg. Molvi came in second place, Mustapha Ayman (Dubai) beat Bilal Mohamed (Sharjah) for third. Ali will represent the UAE at the world finals that will gather the best freestylers from 49 countries in Sao Paolo, Brazil on Nov. 18, 2008. "I love freestyle football, I did not expect to win with an injured leg today, but I have trained well and was prepared for the finals, said Maher. "It is really a dream to participate at the World Finals in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I fear nobody and I am ready for the next challenge. The judging panel comprised of the UAE national football hero Bekhit Saad, Brazilian football coach Marco Aurelio da Cunha and French Algerian Wassim or "Was, one of the world's best freestyle professionals. Participants were evaluated upon three different criteria: The control, the creativity and the style.
