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Bahrain’s national football team coach Gabriel Calderon has praised the team for its efforts in the West Asian Soccer Championship as he started preparing the squad for a fierce battle ahead in next month’s 21st Gulf Cup.
The 52-year-old Argentinian led the team’s first training session on Sunday evening at Al Najma Club grounds in Juffair, their first since returning from Kuwait, where they finished fourth at the recently-concluded championship.
He has also named the 25-member squad for the competition, which will be staged at the National Football Stadium in Riffa and Khalifa Sports City in Isa Town from January 5 to 18.
Calderon said: "I am happy that we were able to get great results in the West Asian Championship and although it wasn’t the goal I intended it’s still good with the little time we had to prepare. I’m very happy with the five matches that we played but I wish we could have had more.
"Right now we are fighting against time to prepare for the Gulf Cup and we will do our best. I am not fazed by the level of the teams we will go up against. In fact, it’s good to go up against strong squads as I think Bahrain needs a good challenge."
"What is my aim for the Gulf Cup? To win, of course! We will do this by taking each match as it comes."
To boost their preparations, the squad will play two friendly matches – against Burkina Faso today and Guinea on Saturday.
The hosts will play in Group ‘A’, which includes former champions Oman, the UAE and Qatar. Bahrain’s first match is scheduled for January 5 against Oman, followed by a game against the UAE on January 8 and against Qatar on January 11.
Bahrain’s team will include striker Ismaeel Abdullatif and defender Hussain Baba, who both missed the training camp in Doha and the tournament in Kuwait due to injuries. Striker Jaycee John, who scored a brace at the West Asian Championship, is also part of the squad.
Players who will be making their debut are Isa Ghalib, Abdulla Yousef, Mohammed Al Mulla, Sayed Dia Saeed, Hassan Jameel, Abdulla Al Hazza and Faisal Budahoom.
Calderon will reduce his squad to 23 players that will be submitted at the technical meeting taking place the day before the tournament’s kick-off.
Bahrain squad: Mohammed Jaffar, Abbas Ahmed, Dawood Saad, Abdullah Al Marzooqi, Hussain Baba, Mohamed Hussain, Mohammed Salmeen, Faouzi Ayesh, Jaycee John, Ismail Abdullatif, Abdullah Omar, Hussain Salman, Sami Al Hussaini, Mahmoud Al Ojaimi, Rashid Al Houti, Abdullah Al Hazza, Abdulwahab Al Malood, Hassan Jamil, Dhia Saeed, Mohammed Al Mulla, Abdullah Yusuf, Isa Ghalib, Abdulwahab Ali, Faisal Budahoom and Mohammed Daij.
