Master and apprentice: How Hernan Crespo and Soufiane Rahimi created history for Al Ain

Soufiane Rahimi was not short of role models growing up as an aspiring footballer in Casablanca.

He is the son of a long-serving staff member at Raja Club Athletic, one of Morocco’s most important football institutions, and the family lived on site at the club’s practice ground.

But when the wannabe striker was honing his skills in knockabout matches as a child, in his mind, it was none of the Raja greats with whom he was so well-acquainted that he tried to emulate.

Instead, he tried to imitate the style of his hero from Argentina: Hernan Crespo.

It’s funny how life works out. As Rahimi was accepting the acclaim as the most valuable player in an extraordinary Asian Champions League title campaign for Al Ain at a valedictory press conference late on Saturday night, Crespo entered, stage left.

Rahimi looked across, beamed a smile that showed off his dazzling white teeth, and said to his boss: “I’m talking about you.”

For the umpteenth time that night, they embraced. Between them, Crespo and Rahimi – the master and apprentice – had just created history for Al Ain.

Rahimi’s goals fired the Garden City club to the title. It was Al Ain’s second Champions League crown, first since 2003, and they remain the only UAE club to have won it.

Rahimi’s haul of 13 goals in 13 matches equalled the record individual tally for a season in the competition.

He was the dominant figure by some distance in the final against Yokohama F Marinos, too. He scored the goal which levelled the tie on aggregate early on. He won the penalty – scored by Kaku – that put Al Ain ahead.

He was the player felled when Yokohama lost their goalkeeper, William Popp, to a red card in the 10th minute of first-half stoppage time. Even after that, he might have had