Abu Dhabi: Midfielder Miguel Nemesio Garcia did the star turn in Valencia's 2-1 win over Espanyol and helped them win the Second Al Ain International Cup on Monday.
It was a valiant fight-back from Valencia who trailed 1-0 at the break but Garcia struck twice to finish joint top scorer of the tournament and give his team a precious win.
Jose Carlos Martinez beat Valencia keeper Jorge Balzquez to put Espanyol ahead in the first half.
However after the break, Garcia struck twice within the space of nine minutes and Valencia were 2-1 up in the 56th minute.
After that, they managed to hold on and finish on top of the eight-team championship. Earlier, in the match for third place, African Stars scored a 2-1 win over French club Olympique Marseille.
Mohammad Al Mahmoud, General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Club presented the winner's cup and a cheque of $20,000 (Dh73,500) to the Valencia skipper while runners-up Espanyol picked up $15,000 for their second-place finish.
The popular African Stars team received $10,000 for their win over Marseille while the UAE under-17 national team, who failed to make it to the knock-out semifinals, won the Fairplay Trophy and Dh12,500.
Garcia's two goals in the final helped him share the top scorer's award with Hadad Al Amery, both finishing with four goals apiece.
The Dh5,000 cash award for the Best Player of the Tournament went to Omar Abdul Rahman from the host team, Al Ain.
The second edition of the Al Ain International Cup was held under the patronage of Shaikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of Abu Dhabi Sports Club.
Dr Khalid Mohammad Abdullah, executive manager of Al Ain Club said the ten-day tournament was a huge success and the event will be bigger next year.
"At Al Ain Club we are always keen to promote football at the junior level and this championship helps our UAE junior players to play alongside some of the emerging talent in Europe," he said.