Abdulla Yusuf Helal, the star football player who says he has been living his dream, hopes to fulfil another dream by helping Bahrain qualify for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
Hilal, 29, made his debut for the national team as a teenager in 2012 and created history in September 2019 by becoming the first-ever player from a GCC country to play in a Uefa Champions League match when he turned out for Czech First League club Slavia Prague against Inter Milan.
A year later, Helal’s name entered the history books again when he became the first Bahraini to play in the Uefa Europa League as he represented Slovan Liberec, another Czech club, against Gent, the Belgian First Division A team.
“This is all a dream come true, honestly,” Helal told the GDN in an exclusive interview.
“As a boy, I loved football but playing the game was more of a hobby than anything else when I was young.
“I played in school, in the neighbourhood and with friends, but could never have imagined that I would end up playing for my country and in top-tier European leagues. I am so lucky to be living my dream.”
The lanky 6’ 4” striker has played 66 matches for Bahrain and says he hopes to play many more.
“I’m not even 30 yet,” Helal explained.
“My story is still unfolding. There are many more chapters to come but the one I am looking forward to the most is, hopefully, helping Bahrain to qualify for the next World Cup.”
Helal’s journey in competitive football began at the age of 13 when he was recruited by the national youth team.
“That was a very special moment,” Helal remembered.
“As a young boy, I idolised the Brazilian football legend, Ronaldo, and wanted to emulate him by playing for my country’s national team.
“Getting selected for the youth team just when I had become a teenager was, I thought, the first step to realising that ambition.”
In 2009, Helal was picked up by local club side East Riffa and played for them until 2014 when he switched to Muharraq, with whom he won the Nasser Bin Hamad Premier League, the country’s top-tier competition, in the 2017-18 season.
But bigger things were just around the corner.
“The Bahrain team was in Europe in the 2018-19 season and we were playing friendly matches against Czech club sides,” Helal said.
“After we played against Bohemians, the club contacted our team management and said ‘We want him! He’ll be an asset for us.’ And, before I knew it, I had been contracted to play for them.”
After a successful season in which he scored five goals in 15 appearances for Bohemians, Helal was snapped up by Slavia Prague for their 2019-20 squad in a move that would result in the young player’s name being immortalised forever.
“I don’t, actually, think too much of it,” he said, modestly, referring to his appearances for Slavia Prague in the Champions League and Slovan Liberec in the Europa League.
“Like I said, I’m very lucky to be living my dream and to have played for these top-notch clubs but I hope I’m not the last Bahraini player to do so. I hope others go on to play in the Champions League and the Europa league too. I would just like to think that I may have inspired young players of the future – and even my contemporaries – to think that it is possible.”
Earlier this year, Helal started a new chapter in his storied career when he signed with Persija Jakarta, one of Indonesia’s most successful clubs.
“I played my first game for them in July,” he said. “They’re a very good team and I’m enjoying being with them.”
Helal made light of the hectic travelling lifestyle that comes with being an in-demand football player.
Last month, he flew home from Indonesia just two days before Bahrain’s first international friendly of the season against Cape Verde. Barely five days later, he was on a flight back to Jakarta, the day after playing in the national team’s second friendly game against Panama.
“It’s tiring, yes, but ultimately very rewarding to be playing for these great clubs and to be able to turn out for my country as well,” he said.
“Since I was a child, it was my dream to make the rest of the world sit up and take notice of Bahrain as a true-blue, football-playing nation. We may be a small country, but we have loads of world-class talent.
“That’s why I hope more of our players are able to play in the European leagues and beyond. I hope to keep the tree of Bahraini talent growing in Europe. It would be great to see more and more of our players participating in those leagues which boast the highest level of football in the world.”
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