Oman desperate to be third time lucky tomorrow

Muscat: Twice in last four years it has been so near yet so far for Oman in the Gulf Cup and now everyone, including their sexagenarian French coach are determined to make it third time lucky at home and win the final of the 19th edition of the biennial tournament against Saudi Arabia on saturday.

Oman lost title clash to hosts Qatar (2004) and again to UAE (2007) in Abu Dhabi. Now as a host they aim to be third time lucky at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, which was dedicated to the youth of the country by Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed in 1985.

The pre-tournament hype had taken nations aspirations very high and now the team trained by Calude Le Roy, since July 2008, is on the threshold of making the dream come true.

Talking about the dream, ambition and aspirations, Le Roy said: "It is not just mine, but the team's, and also the entire nation's, to win the cup. If Oman wins, then Oman football too will win and the victory will augur well for the future. Reaching the final is fantastic, but we want more."

He agreed with media that the team went over the top in celebrating the 1-0 semifinal victory over Qatar on Tuesday night but insisted that the spectre of a third-successive final loss was not haunting his side.

"So far we are not winners, we are finalists, it's not bad but it's not enough. We want more and the team is focused on their ultimate goal."

"It is not finished yet. We deservedly won the semifinals. Now we have a final to play and we need to prepare well for our final rivals," he added.

"If we win this Gulf Cup I think the football in Oman will win for 10 years," he proclaimed.

"It's a fantastic country of football, this country, and we have a huge job to do but it's much easier to do that if we are winners - to get young Omani players in, not players from Africa but from Oman," he said sarcastically.

French coach Bruno Metsu was gracious in Qatar's defeat and praised Oman's goalkeeper Ali Habsi.