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Bahrain's soccer coach Milan Macala is an affable old man with a lot of energy and enthusiasm for the game. For him soccer without pressure is not soccer at all.
On that note alone, I suspect, Macala is in the right place at the right time with Bahrain booking a place in the final round of qualifications for the 2010 World Cup.
I pondered on Macala's task on hand as I watched the Czech Republic blow away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to Turkey in an engrossing European Championship match. It was heartbreaking for the Czechs which was 'my' team in the championship while for the Turks it was a victory snatched from the jaws of defeat.
The last few minutes of this match was as exciting as Bahrain's clash with Oman at the National Stadium a day before. "I must have grown 10 years in the last 20 minutes," said Macala after that match as Bahrain held on to a 1-1 draw to book a place in the final round of the Asian qualifiers.
I wonder what the Turkish or the Czech coach had to say of their own match which should go down as a all-time classic. Like the Bahrain-Oman match, it was action-packed and incident-filled - except for a red card to the Turkey goalkeeper, the referees of both the matches were kept extra busy right through.
Bahrain has something vital to learn from that Euro match - that a soccer clash is not over till the referee blows the final whistle. The Czechs paid the price for not obeying this unwritten law and Bahrain almost did the same against Oman who came agonisingly close to scoring at least twice in the last 10 minutes.
Even against Thailand in the previous match, Bahrain risked losing out in the closing stages before scraping through 3-2. It was the same story four years ago when Bahrain was 90 minutes away from realising the dream of playing in a World Cup.
But they lost to Trinidad & Tobago in front of their adoring fans when all they needed was a goalless draw after having held the visitors 1-1 in the first-leg. Thinking of that match stirs painful memories which have not dulled with the passage of time.
Now Bahrain is making a renewed bid at playing on the world's biggest stage. So far they have looked impressive yet vulnerable, unbeaten in the third round so far yet imminently beatable as Oman so nearly proved, and very good when playing good and very bad when playing bad.
As Macala mentioned after the Oman match, the real business starts for Bahrain now as the top 10 teams from Asia will be divided into two groups with the the top two in each booking automatic berths for the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa. The teams finishing third will play-off and the winner will clash with the corresponding team from the Oceania region for a possible fifth berth for Bahrain.
Four years ago, Bahrain beat Kuwait in the playoff before losing to Trinidad & Tobago. They have to merely improve on that to be on the flight to South Africa in two years time. But the task is not that simple as the 63-year-old Macala readily admits.
Bahrain will first be looking forward to a good draw which will be held later this month before the final qualifiers commence in September. From there on it will all depend on strategy and stamina, skill and will, and the ultimate desire to play with the best in the world.
By beating Japan last month and drawing with Trinidad & Tobago in the first-leg four years ago, Bahrain has shown that it possesses some of the above qualities. But, by drawing with Thailand and Oman at home, Bahrain also proved that it is yet to fully acquire the last quality mentioned above. This can make or break Bahrain's dream.
Australia, South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia, in that order, begin as clear favourites for the four automatic berths available for Asia. Bahrain start as the clear underdogs. To many cynics the situation may look grim. But to me, it is a mission eminently possible.
