the-afc.com wrote:
Bahraini failure brings curtains down on golden generation
Monday, 16 November 2009 15:09
Bahrain�s failure in the FIFA World Cup play-off is difficult enough to digest. But what is absolutely heart-wrenching is that this could have hastened the end of several careers, perhaps, the finest generation of players to pull on the Bahraini shirt.
There will be no glorious swansong on the world stage now for the golden generation: the gifted playmaker Mohamed Salmeen, striker Hussain Ali, defenders Salman Isa and Mohamed Hussain, midfielder Syed Mahmood Jalal, and the famous Hubail brothers - forward Ala�a and midfield maestro Mohamed.
Before the crunch game against the All Whites, Salmeen issued a warning. Aware that this could be his last shot at FIFA World Cup fame, the captain said: �It might not happen again (qualifying for the World Cup) again in our generation. We should not waste this chance.�
By the time the 2014 FIFA World Cup comes around, all these players would be on the wrong side of the 30s, which most probably made this their last innings, one that ended in utter heartbreak.
But it is to these players Bahrain owes its current soaring stock in world football. These seven players proved to be an army in themselves, warhorses who were instrumental in the tiny Gulf side scaling the pinnacle of success.
While Jalal, Hubail (Mohamed) and Salmeen ran - and will continue to do for some time - the engine-room and kept it well-oiled, the task of tormenting goalkeepers and rival defences was handled with aplomb by the other Hubail sibling and Ali.
The Hubails� contribution to Bahrain�s success story needs special mention. Mohamed has held the baton in midfield for a long time now. He was the playmaker-par-excellence in the AFC Asian Cup 2004, keeping his hungry brother well-fed in front of goal with pin-point passes.
And, Ala�a did what he is best known for: scoring goals. The hitman struck the net five times and was joint top-goalscorer in the continental extravaganza as Bahrain finished fourth, a performance that signaled their ascent to the upper echelons of the Asian game.
The team�s performances also led to them being named the �Most Improved Team� by FIFA for 2004.
Salmeen, the No 10 and son of the legendary Ahmed (Salmeen), has been the sheet-anchor for the side for nearly a decade, especially in three FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns since 2002. He was a key member of the 2006 squad that fell to Trinidad and Tobago.
Jalal and Ali are the other seasoned warriors of the FIFA World Cup qualifying. Both have figured in every campaign since 2002, handling disappointments as they come and getting up to fight another day.
But Bahrain�s letdown on Saturday is sure to leave defender Hussain the most baffled. He has seen his team lose four times in the qualifiers, coming nearer and nearer since 1998, only for the prized berth to be snatched by their opponents at the last minute.
It was to this group the Bahrainis owe their highest ever FIFA ranking - 44th in 2004. It is not surprising that Bahrain also scored their biggest win - versus Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, both 5-0 scorelines - when these seven players were at their peak.
Now, all these players risk being remembered not by their splendid performances and victories and accomplishments over the years but by their ignominious choking and breakdown on the cusp of FIFA World Cup greatness.
- By R. Ravi Kumar
oh what a night.
