FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN head coach Dragan Talajic was passionate and brutally honest yesterday as the kingdom’s senior men’s football national team continue to rue their early exit from the 27th Gulf Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Bahrainis are already out of title contention in the eight-nation tournament and play their final Group B fixture tonight against fellow-winless side Yemen at 8.30pm, Bahrain time, at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium.
Speaking in his pre-game Press conference, Talajic acknowledged that the kingdom’s side have been hugely disappointing with their losing performances so far against Qatar and the UAE – both of whom are already through to the semi-finals – and vowed that something needs to change as they move forward.
But the pain of their unceremonious elimination from their highly anticipated Gulf Cup title-defence was still evident, and the Croatian was sincere in sharing his sentiments.
“I want to kill myself in the dressing room!” Talajic said. “I want to cry like a baby, but I am over 60 years old.
“My players are going out without any emotion – this is not Bahrain, and the Bahraini people deserve much better.
“This tournament has been very disappointing for me, but it’s not about the results – football is a game and you can win or lose – but what we have shown, our kingdom does not deserve it.
“We are not only football players. We are responsible to represent our Bahraini people, and we are not doing it.”
Talajic said that Bahrain will be making the necessary adjustments for this evening’s contest against Yemen.
Both teams head into the clash having conceded five goals each in their earlier assignments, and Talajic said that new faces will be taking to the pitch as the Bahrainis look to salvage a positive ending to their campaign in Jeddah.
“We will change something,” Talajic said. “We need to show we have some players who will be the future of Bahrain football.
“In the first two games, we were playing against two strong opponents, Qatar and the UAE. If you look now at the situation, the four teams who are nearly qualified for the semi-finals, three of them were from the world cup, plus the UAE.
“The UAE are very strong because of some new players who are unbelievable. I did not give too much opportunity for our young guys because the previous two games were very tough, and we needed some of our more experienced players. But tomorrow, sure we will change something, and you will see some new boys.
“And for the next tournament, I will change a lot. I have shown you one face of me as I always protect my boys, but now it’s time to change something, and I will show you a second face.”
Bahrain’s 26-player squad in the 27th Gulf Cup, also known as ‘Khaleeji 27’, includes Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, Komail Al Aswad, Mahdi Abduljabbar, Ali Madan, Mahdi Humaidan, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Abdulla Alkhalasi, Waleed Al Hayyam, Amine Benaddi, Jassim Al Shaikh, Abbas Al Asfoor, Hamad Shamsan, Hussain Abdulkarim, Ahmed Rabea, Hassan Alkarani, Omar Saber, Vincent Emmanuel, Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Hashem Sayed Issa, Mohammed Alrumaihi, Ebrahim Alkhattal, Mohammed Abdulqayoom, Ali Aldoseri, and goalkeepers Ebrahim Luthfallah, Omar Salem and Mohammed Elgharably.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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