14TH GULF CUP
(BAHRAIN; 30/10......12/11/1998)
BAHRAIN - UAE: 0-1. H.T.:(0-1).
Scorer: Adel Mohamed (40').
Venue/Date/Att.: "Bahrain National Stadium" - Manama City / 30.10.1998 / 20.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Omar Saleh Al-Mehanna (Saudi Arabia).
Linesmen: Mr. Mohamed Al-Nawfal (Saudi Arabia), Mr. Khamis Mubarak (Oman).
Cautions: BAH: Fayyadh Mahmoud (75').
UAE: Adel Mohamed (37'), Ismail Rashed (74').
Bahrain: Mohamed Saleh / Mohamed Hussein, Ali Amer, Amir Shabib (68'. Sami Al-Haiki,),
Fayyadh Mahmoud / Khamis Eid, Talal Youssouf, Abdulrazzaq Mohamed, Faysal
Abdulaziz (57'. Rashed Al-Dossari) / Jamal Rashed, Youssouf Al-Sa'adi
(46'. Hussein Ali).
Coach: Ernesto Guerrez (Brazil).
UAE: Muhsin Musabbah / Fahad Ali, Ali Hassan, Ismail Rshed, Abdulrahman Ibrahim /
Abdulsalam Juma'a, Adel Matar (57'. Ali Thani Juma'a), Hassan Saeed, Adel
Mohamed / Kazem Ali (70'. Hassan Sohail), Fahad Al-Noways (81'. Sultan Rashed).
Coach: Carlos Manuel Queiroz (Portugal).
SAUDI ARABIA - KUWAIT: 2-1. H.T.:(1-0).
Scorers: S.AR.: Obaid Al-Dossari (4';70').
KUW.: Hussein Al-Khodari (62').
Venue/Date/Attn.: "Bahrain National Stadium" - Manama City / 31.10.1998 / 28.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Jean-Marc Batta (France).
Linesmen: Mr. Malek Hassan (Oman), Mr. Youssouf Al-Gattan (Bahrain).
Cautions: S. AR.: Abdullah Sheehan (23'), Khaled Al-Timawi (40'), Abdullah
Suleyman Al-Zubromawi (54'), Obaid Al-Dossari (73').
KUW: Jamal Mubarak (41'), Fawwaz Marzouq Bakhit (59'), Hussein Al- Khodari (77').
Saudi Arabia: Mohamed Al-Deayyea / Mohamed Shaliyah Al-Jahni, Hussein Abdulghani
Al-Suleymani, Mohamed Al-Khlaiwi, Abdullah Suleyman Al-Zubromawi /
Ibrahim Mater Al-Harbi, Khaled Al-Timawi (76'. Faysal Abou Thnein),
Khamis Al-Owairan, Youssouf Al-Thunayyan / Obaid Al-Dossari, Ali
Al-Fheid (82'. Saad Al-Dossari).
Coach: Otto Pfister (Germany).
Kuwait: Khaled Al-Fadli / Jamal Mubarak, Mohamed Bnayyan, Hussein Al-Khodari (86'. Nahir
Al-Shemmari), Ahmed Al-Mtiri / Fawwaz Marzouq Bakhit, Badr Hajji, Issam Sakin,
Hani Saqr (Faraj Lahib, 79') / Bashar Abdullah, Jassem Al-Howaidi.
Coach: Milan Macala (Czech Republic).
OMAN - QATAR: 2-1. H.T.: (1-1).
Scorers: OMAN: Farid Al-Mazrouyi (26'), Taqi Mubarak (59').
QATAR: Adel Khamis (29').
Venue/Date/Attn.: "Bahrain National Stadium" - Manama City / 31.10.1998 / 22.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Ali Mandi (Kuwait).
Linesmen: Mr. Mohamed Obaid (UAE), Mr. Mohamed Al-Nawfal (S. Arabia).
Cautions: OMAN: Farid Al-Mazrouyi (72'), Suleyman Khamis (84').
QATAR: Youssouf Adam (20'), Dahi Saeed (34'), Ahmed Khalil (52').
Oman: Suleyman Khamis / Sultan Suleyman, Mohamed Rabih, Farid Al-Mazrouyi,
Mohamed Zayed (77'. Ahmed Rashed) / Khair Bin Khadem, Rashed Abdullah,
Suleyman Al-Wahibi (46'. Talal Khalfan), Taqi Mubarak / Hani Al-Zabet,
Majdi Fatah (80'. Jamal Al-Bloushi).
Coach: Carlos Viera (Brazil).
Qatar: Ahmed Khalil / Dahi Al-Noubi, Yasser Nazmi, Youssouf Adam, Jassem Al-Tamimi /
Abdulnasser Al-Obaydli, Abdulaziz Hassan, Adel Khamis, Saoud Fatah (70'.
Abdullah Al-Jassem) / Mubarak Al-Kowari (59'. Mahmoud Soufi), Mubarak
Mustapha
Coach: Luis Conzaga (Brazil).
BAHRAIN - SAUDI ARABIA: 1-1. H.T.: (1-1).
Scorers: BAH: Abdulrazzaq Mohamed (45').
S.AR: Youssouf Al-Tyunayyan (30').
Venue/Date/Attn.: "Bahrain National Stadium" - Manama City / 02.11.1998 / 28.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Diaz Manuel Vega (Spain).
Linesmen: Mr. Juma'a Al-Ali (Qatar), Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Mulla (UAE).
Sent-Off: BAH: Hadi Ahmed (80').
Cautions: BAH: Mahmoud Al-Widayi (38'), Talal Youssouf (59'), Faysal
Abdulaziz (78'), Khamis Eid (81').
S. AR.: Ahmed Al-Dossari (69').
Bahrain: Mohamed Saleh / Mohamed Hussein, Ali Amer, Khamis Eid, Fayyadh Mahmoud /
Talal Youssouf, Abdulrazzaq Mohamed (55'. Amir Shabib), Faysal Abdulaziz,
Rashed Al-Dossari / Rashed Jamal (55'. Hadi Ahmed), Mahmoud Al-Widayi
(63'. Sami Al-Hayki).
Coach: Ernesto Guerrez (Brazil).
Saudi Arabia: Mohamed Al-Deayyea / Hussein Abdulghani Al-Sulerymani, Ahmed Al-Doukhi
(58'. Ali Al-Fheid) Abdullah Suleyman Al-Zubromawi, Mohamed Al-Khlaiwi /
Khamis Al-Owairan, Khaled Al-Timawi, Ibrahim Mater Al-Harbi, Youssouf
Al-Thunayyan (69' Saad Al-Dossari) / Abdullah Shihan, Obaid Al-Dossari.
Coach: Otto Pfister (Germany).
KUWAIT - QATAR: 6-2. H.T. :(2-1).
Scorers: KUW: Jassem Al-Howaidi (8'; 37'; 55' ;72' ; 90'pen.), Bashar Abdullah (50').
QAT.: Abdulaziz Hassan (22'), Mubarak Mustapha (80').
Venue/Date/Attn.: "Bahrain National Stadium" - Manama City / 02.11.1998/ 25.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Milo Vittor Parreira (Portugal).
Linesmen: Mr. Malek Hassan (Oman), Mr. Mohamed Al-Nawfal (S. Arabia).
Sent off: QAT: Abdulnasser Al-Obaidly (67').
Cautions: KUW: Hussein Al-Khodari (66').
QAT: Abdullah Al-Noubi (19'), Adel Khamis (40').
Kuwait: Ahmed Jassem / Jamal Mubarak (77' Mohamed Al-Khalidi), Hussein Al-Khodari
(70'. Adel Youssouf), Ahmed Al-Mtiri, Nahir Al-Shemmari / Fawwaz Marzouq
Bakhit, Issam Sakin, Badr Hajji (83'. Mohamed Jassem), Hani Saqr, /
Bashar Abdullah, Jassem Al-Howaidi.
Coach: Milan Macala (Czech Republic).
Qatar: Ahmed Khalil / Abdullah Obaid, Raed Yaaqoub, Dahi Al-Noubi (33'. Abdullah
Jassem), Youssouf Adam (64'. Saoud Jama'an) / Jassem Al-Tamimi (60'. Yasser
Nazmi), Abdulnasser Al-Obaydli, Abdulaziz Hassan, Adel Khamis / Mubarak
Mustapha, Mohamed Salem Al-Enazi.
Coach: Luis Conzaga (Brazil).
UAE - OMAN: 3-2. H.T. :(1-0).
Scorers: UAE: Adel Mohamed (37'), Ali-Thani Juma'a (51'), Adel Matar (84').
OMAN: Majdi Fatah (73' pen. ; 80').
Venue/Date/Attn.: "Bahrain National Stadium" - Manama City / 03.11.1998 / 12.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Walter Gunter Pinko (Austria).
Linesmen: Mr. Qassem Hamza (Kuwait), Mr. Juma'a Al-Ali (Qatar).
Cautions: UAE: Fahad Ali (27'), Ali Hassan (59'), Uussein Ghalloum (69').
U.A.E.: Muhsin Musabbah / Fahad Ali, Ali Hassan, Hassan Sohail, Abdulrahman Ibrahim /
Abdulsalam Juma'a, Adel Matar, Hassan Saeed (78'. Ismail Rashed), Adel
Mohamed (63'. Hussein Ghalloum) / Kazem Ali (69'. Sultan Rashed),
Ali-Thani Juma'a.
Coach: Carlos Manuel Queiroz (Portugal).
Oman: Suleyman Khamis / Mohamed Khamis (35'. Qassem Al-Habsi), Farid Al-Mazrouyi,
Ali Saeed (64'. Suleyman Al-Wahibi), Mohamed Zayed / Khair Bin Khadem, Rashed
Abdullah, Radwan Salem, Taqi Mubarak / Hani Al-Zabet, Majdi Sha'aban.
Coach: Carlos Viera (Brazil).
SAUDI ARABIA - OMAN: 1-0. H.T. :(0-0).
Scorer: Obaid Al-Dossari (78').
Venue/Date/Attn.: "Bahrain National Stadium" - Manama City / 05.11.1998 / 18.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Sultan Majli (Bahrain).
Linesmen: Mr. Ali Makhlouf (UAE), Mr. Youssouf Al-Gattan (Bahrain).
Cautions: S. AR.: Abdullah Suleyman A-Zubromawi (79').
OMAN: Talal Khalfan (33'), Rashed Abdullah (80').
S. Arabia: Mohamed Al-Deayyea / Mohamed Shaliyah Al-Jahni, Hussein Abdulghani
Al-Suleymani, Abdullah Suleyman Al-Zubromawi, Mohamed Al-Khlaiwi /
Ali Al-Fheid (46'. Ibrahim Mater Al-Harbi), Khaled Al-Timawi, Youssouf
Al-Thunayyan, Abdullah Al-Sheehan, / Obaid Al-Dossari, Saad Al-Dossari
(71'. Faysal Abou Thnein).
Coach: Otto Pfister (Germany).
Oman: Suleyman Khamis / Sultan Suleyman, Farid Al-Mazrouyi, Mohamed Zayed,
Talal Khalfan (46'. Radwan Salem) / Khair Bin Khadem, Rashed Abdullah,
Mohamed Khamis (60'. Suleyman Al-Wahibi), Taqi Mubarak, /Hani Al-Zabet,
Majdi Fatah.
Coach: Carlos Viera (Brazil).
U.A.E. - QATAR: 0-0.
Venue/Date/Attn.: "Bahrain National Stadium" - Manama City / 05.11.1998 / 7.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Hassan Al-Ajami (Oman).
Linesmen: Mr. Omar Al-Mehanna (S. Arabia), Mr. Malek Hassan (Oman).
Cautions: UAE: Abdulrahman Mohamed (61').
QAT: Dahi Al-Noubi (44').
U.A.E.: Muhsin Musabbah / Abdulrahman Ibrahim, Abdulrahman Mohamed, Hassan Sohail,
Ali Matar/ Sultan Rashed, Abdulsalam Juma'a (46'. Mohamed Ali Kasla),
Adel Matar, Adel Mohamed / Kazem Ali, Ali-Thani Juma'a (74' Ali Hassan).
Coach: Carlos Manuel Queiroz (Portugal).
Qatar: Amer Al-Ka'abi/ Dahi Al-Noubi, Youssouf Adam, Jassem Al-Tamimi, Yasser Nazmi/
Abdulaziz Hassan, Raed Al-Bloushi (46'. Abdulnasser Al-Obaidly), Saoud Fatah,
Adel Khamis / Mubarak Mustapha, Mohamed Salem Al-Enazi (76'. Mahmoud Soufi)
Coach: Luis Conzaga (Brazil).
BAHRAIN - KUWAIT: 0-2. H.T. :(0-0).
Scorers: Issam Sakin (45'), Faraj Lahib (90').
Venue/Date/Attn.: "Bahrain National Stadium" - Manama City / 06.11.1998 / 25.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Mulla (United Arab Emirates).
Linesmen: Mr. Rashed Eid (UAE), Mr. Khamis Ballan (Qatar).
Cautions: BAH: Fayadh Mahmoud (22'), Khaled Al-Jassem (85').
KUW: Ahmed Al-Mtiri (54').
Bahrain: Mohamed Saleh / Mohamed Hussein, Ahmed Eissa (63'. Rashed Jamal), Fayyadh
Mahmoud, Khamis Eid / Talal Youssouf (71'. Hassan Ali), Abdulrazzaq Mohamed,
Faysal Abdulaziz, Rashed Al-Dossari / Youssouf Amer, Jalal Mahmoud
(75'. Khaled Al-Jassem).
Coach: Ernesto Guerrez (Brazil).
Kuwait: Ahmed Jassem / Jamal Mubarak, Mohamed Al-Khalidi, Nahir Al-Shemmari /
Fawwaz Marzouq Bakhit, Ahmed Al-Mtiri, Badr Hajji (83'. Hamad Al-Saleh),
Issam Sakin, Hani Saqr / Jassem Al-Howaidi (79'. Faraj Lahib), Bashar
Abdullah (87'. Adel Youssouf).
Coach: Milan Macala (Czech Republic).
BAHRAIN - QATAR: 0-0.
Venue/ Date / Attn.: "Bahrain National Stadium" - Manama City / 08.11.1998 / 8.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Khamis Mubarak (Oman), Mr. Ali Makhlouf (UAE).
Linesmen: Mr. Malek Hassan (Oman), Mr. Qassem Hamza (Kuwait).
Cautions: QAT: Yasser Nazmi (30'), Adel Khamis (79').
Bahrain: Mohamed Saleh / Mohamed Hussein, Khamis Eid, Sultan Eissa, Fayyadh
Mahmoud / Talal Youssouf, Abdulrazzaq Mohamed, Faysal Abdulaziz,
Rashed Al-Dossari / Khaled Jassem (46'. Rashed Jamal), Youssouf Amer.
Coach: Ernesto Guerrez (Brazil).
Qatar: Amer Al-Ka'abi / Dahi Al-Noubi, Yasser Nazmi, Youssouf Adam, Jassem
Al-Tamimi (37'. Rashed Al-Bloushi) / Abdulnasser Al-Obaydli, Abdulaziz
Hassan, Adel Khamis, Abdullah Al-Jassem (77. Adel Hassan) / Mubarak
Mustapha, Mahmoud Soufi.
Coach: Luis Conzaga (Brazil).
SAUDI ARABIA - UAE: 1-0. H.T.: (1-0).
Scorer: Ali Al-Fheid (18').
Venue /Date/Attn.: "Bahrain National Stadium" -- Manama City / 08.11.1998 / 22.500 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Jean-Marc Batta (France).
Linesmen: Mr. Juma'a Al-Ali (Qatar), Mr. Khalfan Ghamdi (Oman).
Cautions: S.AR: Ali Al-Fheid (11'), Mohamed Al-Khlaiwi (54').
UAE: Ali Hassan (66').
S. AR.: Mohamed Al-Deayyea / Mohamed Shaliyah Al-Jahni (29'. Ahmed Al-Doukhi),
Abdullah Suleyman Al-Zubromawi, Mohamed Al-Khlaiwi, / Ibrahim Mater
Al-Harbi, Khamis Al-Owairan, Sa'ad Al-Dossari, Khaled Al-Timawi, Ali
Al-Fheid / Obaid Al-Dossari, Abdullah Al-Sheehan (66'.Ibrahim Al-Showayeh).
Coach: Otto Pfister (Germany).
U.A.E.: Muhsin Musabbah /Ismail Rashed, Hassan Sohail, Abdulrahman Ibrahim
(79'. Abdulsalam Juma'a) / Adel Matar, Hassan Saeed (46'. Sultan Rashed),
Ali Hassan, Adel Mohamed, Mohamed Ali Kasla / Kazem Ali, Ali-Thani Juma'a.
Coach: Carlos Manuel Queiroz (Portugal).
KUWAIT - OMAN: 5-0. H.T.: (1-0)
Scorers: Jassem Al-Howaidi (36'; 85'), Badr Hajji (52'), Bashar Abdullah (82'),
Issam Sakin (83').
Venue/Date/Attn.: "Bahrain National Stadium" - Manama / 09.11.1998 / 8.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Milo Vittor Parreira (Portugal).
Linesmen: Mr. Youssouf Al-Gattan (Bahrain), Mr. Khamis Ballan (Qatar).
Cautions: KUW: Fawwaz Marzouq Bakhit (38').
Kuwait: Ahmed Jassem / Ahmed Al-Mtiri, Jamal Mubarak, Nahir Al-Shemmari / Fawwaz
Marzouq Bakhit, Hussein Al-Khodari (66'. Adel Youssouf), Issam Sakin,
Badr Hajji, Hani Saqr (72'. Mohamed Bnayyan) / Bashar Abdullah
(86'. Faraj Lahib), Jassem Al-Howaidi.
Coach: Milan Macala (Czech Republic).
Oman: Suleyman Khamis / Sultan Suleyman, Mohamed Rabih, Farid Al-Mazrouyi
(46'. Talal Khalfan), Mohamed Zayed / Khair Bin Khadem, Rashed Abdullah,
Suleyman Al-Wahibi, Taqi Mubarak (62'. Jamal Al-Bloushi) / Hani Al-Zabet,
Majdi Fatah.
Coach: Carlos Viera (Brazil).
SAUDI ARABIA - QATAR: 0-0.
Venue/Date/Attn.: "Bahrain National Stadium" - Manama / 11.11.1998 / 13.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Diaz Manuel Vega (Spain).
Linesmen: Mr. Qassem Hamza (Kuwait), Mr. Ali Makhlouf (UAE).
Cautions: S. AR.: Abdullah Al-Sheehan (49').
QAT: Jassem Al-Tamimi (56'), Adel Khamis (83'), Amer Al-Ka'abi (86').
Sent-Off: S. AR.: Mohamed Al-Khlaiwi (93').
QAT: Abdulaziz Hassan (91').
S. Arabia: Mohamed Al-Deayyea / Ahmed Al-Doukhi, Hussein Abdulghnani Suleymani,
Mohamed Al-Khlaiwi, Abdullah Suleyman Al-Zubromawi / Ibrahim Mater
Al-Harbi, Khaled Al-Timawi, Khamis Al-Owairan, Abdullah Al-Sheehan /
Obaid Al-Dossari, Ali Al-Fheid (46'. Youssouf Al-Thunayyan).
Coach: Otto Pfister (Germany).
Qatar: Amer Al-Ka'abi / Dahi Al-Noubi, Yasser Nazmi, Adel Khamis, Youssouf Adam /
Jassem Al-Tamimi, Abdulnasser Al-Obaydli, Abdulaziz Hassan / Mahmoud Soufi
(87'. Mubarak Saleh), Mubarak Mustapha (81'. Abdullah Jassem), Saoud Fatah.
Coach: Luis Conzaga (Brazil).
KUWAIT - UAE: 4-1. H.T.: (2-0).
Scorers: KUW: Badr Hajji (20' pen.), Issam Sakin (37'), Jassem Al-Howaidi (65'; 70' ).
U.A.E.: Hassan Sohail (55').
Venue/Date/Attn.: "Bahrain National Stadium" - Manama / 12.11.1998 / 20.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Jean-Marc Batta (France).
Linesmen: Mr. Khamis Mubarak (Oman), Mr. Malek Hassan (Oman).
Sent-Off: UAE: Adel Matar (23').
Cautions: KUW: Fawwaz Marzouq Bakhit (16').
UAE: Hassan Sohail (55').
Kuwait: Ahmed Al-Jassem / Nahir Al-Shemmari, Jamal Mubarak, Mohamed Bnayyan /
Hussein Al-Khodari (77'. Hani Al-Saqr), Ahmed Al-Mtiri, Fawwaz Marzouq
Bakhit, Issam Sakin, Badr Hajji, / Bashar Abdullah (74'. Faraj Lahib),
Jassem Al-Howaidi (84. Hamad Al-Saleh).
Coach: Milan Macala (Czech Republic).
UAE: Muhsin Musabbah / Ismail Rashed, Hassan Sohail, Abdulrahman Ibrahim /
Abdulsalam Juma'a (82'. Sultan Rashed), Adel Matar, Hassan Saeed , Ali
Hassan, Adel Mohamed / Kazem Ali, Mohamed Ali Kasla (87'. Ali-Thani Juma'a).
Coach: Carlos Manuel Queiroz (Portugal).
BAHRAIN - OMAN: 2-2. H.T.: (2-2).
Scorers: BAHR.: Talal Youssouf (14'), Khaled Jassem (41').
OMAN: Mohamed Khamis (12'), Hani Al-Zabet (21'),
Venue/Date/Attn.: "Bahrain National Stadium" - Manama / 12.11.1998 / 12.000 Sp.
Referee: Mr. Juma'a Al-Ali (Qatar).
Linesmen: Mr. Mohamed Al-Nawfal (Saudi Arabia), Mr. Ali Makhlouf (U.A.E.).
Cautions: BAH: Khamis Eid (77').
OMA: Khair Bin Khadem (50').
Bahrain: Mohamed Saleh / Mohamed Hussein, Khamis Eid, Mohamed Hussein, Fayyadh
Mahmoud, (69'Sami Al-Haiki) / Abdulrazzaq Mohamed, Hussein Ali
(46'. Ahmed Eissa), Talal Youssouf, Mohamed Salmin (66'. Sami Al-Haiki) /
Khaled Jassem, Jamal Rashed.
Coach: Ernesto Guerrez (Brazil).
Oman: Awad Al-Alawi / Talal Khalfan, Farid Al-Mazrouyi, Rashed Al-Wahibi,
Radwan Salem (56. Muhsin Saleh) /Mohamed Khamis, Kair Bin Khadem, Mohamed
Al-Arimi, Majdi Sha'aban (46'. Suleyman Al-Wahibi) / Hani Al-Zabet, Taqi
Mubarak.
Coach: Carlos Viera (Brazil).
14TH GULF CUP FINAL STANDINGS
1.Kuwait 5 4 0 1 18- 5 12
2.Saudi Arabia 5 3 2 0 5- 2 11
3.UAE 5 2 1 2 5- 7 7
4.Oman 5 1 1 3 6-12 4
5.Bahrain 5 0 3 2 3- 6 3
6.Qatar 5 0 3 2 3- 8 3
Top Scorers: 1. Jassem Al-Howaidi (Kuwait)..........................9 Goals.
2. Issam Sakin (Kuwait), Obaid Al-Dossari (Saudi Arabia)...3 Goals.
Most Valuable Player: Badr Hajji (Kuwait).
Best Goalkeeper: Mohamed Al-Deayyea (Saudi Arabia).
Fair-Play Team: Kuwait.
Never-Say-Die Kuwait claims its 9th "Gulf Cup" trophy.
Kuwait succeeded in retaining the "Gulf Cup" after a close challenge with
hot-favourites Saudi Arabia, setting a new record for this competition, as
illustrious winners on 9 occasions.
At the end of the day, the final outcome of this competition was left till
the very last kick of this 13-day round-robin tournament. This being said, it
should be mentioned that the hectic schedule which featured every side confronting
the other 5 competitors in such a very short spell of time, brought the overall
performances of the 6 nations down to the lowest levels.
Only Kuwait emerged as the most consistent, committed and convincing side,
staging a remarkable comeback after an early narrow defeat by the Saudis, which
saw them recording 4 consecutive emphatic wins over their opponents in a very
thrilling fashion. This is why all the regional football observers were stunned
at the aftermath of the competition to hear the announcement of their Czech
manager, Mr. Milan Macala, in which he stated his willingness to quit the Gulf
region and rejoin his family back in Prague, following a rather very successful
record with Kuwait (leading the national team to both latest 1996 & 1998 Gulf
Cup coveted trophies).
As for other failing national coaches, the German Otto Pfister was sacked
by Saudi Arabia, and the current rumours affirm that the Saudi FA is currently
in advanced talks with World Cup winning manager, Frenchman Aimé Jacquet, in
order to appoint him as manager of their side.
Concerning Qatar, who ended the competition at the bottom spot (for the
very first time in this 27-year old competition!), reports quoted today that
Mr. Berti Vogts who resigned last month from the managerial spot at the German
national team arrived yesterday to Doha city, in order to negociate a probable
3-year contract with local national side. The bitter failure of the competition,
without any doubt, was the United Arab Emirates, who ended their rather dismal
campaign with a (1-4) humiliating defeat at the hands of the ultimate winners
Kuwait, drawing the attention at the current situation of the newly-signed
Portuguese manager, Mr. Carlos Manuel Queiroz, particularly following last
month's bitter displays in the 7th ARAB CUP.
But all credit to Kuwait's marvellous achievement goes, primarily, to the
Kuwait FA, who kept faith with the Czech Milan Macala for 4 consecutive years
(a very lengthy period by the Arab National Federations' own standards!), despite
his failure to guide his side to the last World Cup finals, a period which
allowed him to build a team full of charisma and flair, with great character
and individual skilful players, added to a never ending toll of strength-in-depth
rising stars, eager to show their abilities at least at the regional level of
Asian soccer.
Kuwait's campaign in this 14th edition of the GULF CUP was simply magnificent:
in their inaugural match, 2 rare blunders committed by 1st-team choice goalkeeper
Khaled Al-Fadli allowed the Saudi star forward Obaid Al-Dossari to grab two goals
for his side, and claim a narrow (2-1) win over Kuwait. But the final scoreline
didn't reflect at all the overall supremacy of the Kuwaiti footballers throughout
the 90 minutes.
Mr. Macala decided to oust Al-Fadli from the starting line-up in the
following fixture (a crucial and tricky encounter versus unpredictable side,
Qatar) and substitute Ahmed Jassem came to the rescue, conceding only 3 goals
in the remaining 4 matches of the competition: Kuwait thrashed Qatar (6-2) in
the second encounter, disposed of hosts Bahrain (2-0) afterwards, before
annihilating Oman (5-0) and outclassing the UAE (4-1) in the final fixture.
The side provided the football fans with an extremely thrilling football
playing scheme, which saw them netting no less than 18 goals in only 5 matches,
and claiming virtually all the competition's prizes: Champions of the competition,
the Best Striker spot with the prolific Jassem Al-Howidi's exciting 8 goals tally
(without any penalty), the Most Valuable Player's prize with the attacking
midfielder Badr Hajji claiming it (he also clinched this same prize during
last month's 7th ARAB CUP !), and finally the Fair-Play team award, leaving
only the Best Keeper's prize to the Saudi Mohamed Al-Deayyea.
Saudi Arabia was simply the flop of the tournament, to the complete surprise
of all the attending football experts and pundits...Gone are the days of Fouad
Anwar Amin, Saeed Al-Owairan and Khaled Massa'ad Al-Muwallid (all of them halted
from playing on the international scene by their national FA following the dreadful
performances in the World Cup), and with only some rare talented players like
striker Obaid Al-Dossari and midfielder Khaled Al-Timawi, it looks like "the
Greens" will have an upheaval task to face in order to regain the great showings
of the current decade's first half.
Saying so, the German Otto Pfister (who was recalled once again to the side
following the sack of Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira) looked short of new
ideas and positive imagination, added to the current players' stunning
unwillingness to provide the goods from him. With only 3 very narrow wins (2-1
over Kuwait, 1-0 over both Bahrain and UAE) and 2 draws (1-1 with Oman and 0-0
with lowly Qatar!), the side was rather extremely lucky to end the campaign at
the runners-up spot, one aspect emphasizing the low overall level of this year's
competition.
Without some brilliant displays by their vastly-experienced keeper Al-Deayyea,
the side was even on the verge of suffering some rather surprising defeats. For
the first time ever in the history of Saudi football, the written press media was
surprisingly allowed even to attack their FA administrators, but also the players,
for getting their national side in such a catastrophic mood, while hailed before
the kick-off of the tournament as everyone's hot favourites to retain the coveted
trophy from their neighbouring arch-rivals Kuwait. It must be wise to mention that
the GULF CUP competition still bears too much in the thinking of the Saudi public,
despite their national team's latest 2 outings in the World Cup finals, and to be
humiliated in such a manner by Kuwait (particularly after winning the last ARAB
CUP) was something the Saudi opinion cannot even bear!
The UAE case is really a puzzling one: while Kuwait has a weak league and
domestic competitions but still provide fine players, and Arabia having arguably
the best league in the Arab world but only suffering currently from a shortage of
good footballers at the international scene, the UAE (who only opened the domestic
scene doors this current season to foreign players from overseas) is suffering
from both aspects: their local competitions are pretty poor, and the national
side is lacking the abundance of fine players, with the retirement from the
international scene of their most famous player, striker Adnan Al-Talyani, and
the suspension for further notice of vastly-experienced twin midfielders Bakhit
& Khamis Sa'ad from international duty. The 4-month period of new manager, the
Portuguese Carlos Manuel Queiroz never helped the Emirates' cause, as they
finished at the third place, scoring only 5 goals in 5 matches and conceding 7.
It should be very interesting to see how the side will negociate the upcoming
qualifiers of the 2000 Asian Cup (due to be held in October 2000 in the Lebanon),
particularly as the FA President vowed he will keep faith with Mr. Queiroz
during his 2-year contract, hoping he will gain the same success recently
enjoyed by his Czech counterpart, Mr. Milan Macala, at the hot seat of Kuwait's
managerial staff.
Prepared and maintained by Mohamed S. Chbaro for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Author: Mohamed S. Chbaro (mochbaro@intracom.net.lb)
Last updated: 11 Dec 1998
(C) Copyright Mohamed S. Chbaro and RSSSF 1998
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
acknowledgement is given to the author. All rights reserved.