Arab News has profiled Hammam Al-Hammami, the 22-year-old credited with closing a 22-year Saudi Arabian wait for the Gulf Cup title.
That wait stretches back to Jan. 8, 2004, when Yasser Al-Qahtani struck twice inside 22 minutes to hand Saudi Arabia a 2-0 win over Yemen. The result earned the country its third Gulf Cup crown and, the outlet notes, was its final one for the next 22 years.
Al-Hammami was born 22 days after that victory over Yemen.
His route into the game was unusual for a Saudi player: he did not emerge from a youth club in Jeddah, his birthplace, or Najran, his hometown. Instead his football career started in East London.