Dubai: Both Bahrain and Yemen are looking for historic firsts at the 22nd Gulf Cup ahead of their opening group match at the King Fahd International Stadium on Thursday (10.30pm UAE).
The Bahrainis have never won the competition in 21 attempts, while Yemen have never won a game since they joined the format in 2003.
Bahrain’s Iraqi boss Adnan Hamad said on Wednesday he hoped he could be the man to end Bahrain’s 44-year wait for silverware.
“This tournament is so important for the people of the Gulf and to win it would be a remarkable achievement for any team,” he told a pre-match media conference. “I’m not creating excuses, and we will try to achieve this ambition — we came to compete for the title as every other team and I hope to succeed. “The pressure increases with every year that passes without victory, but we continue to strive to realise our dream. For years we’ve had opportunities to win but have just missed out due to bad luck.”
Meanwhile, Yemen’s coach Miroslav Soukup, from the Czech Republic, admitted his side would find it hard.
“We don’t have an easy situation in our country,” he said. “My players try hard in training and we’ve built a squad systematically with the best players in our league, but compared to the opposition we are still worse.
“However, before the game it is 0-0 and sometimes the favourite doesn’t win, sometimes the worst team has a chance, so we will try to do our best to do something in the tournament.”
