Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
The kingdom’s new football coach wants to encourage a more professional attitude as well as develop the nation’s younger players to ensure cup glory becomes a reality rather than a distant dream.
Determined Miroslav Soukup, from the Czech Republic, has his sights set on helping Bahrain reach the finals of the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.
The 51-year-old, who has set up home in Amwaj Islands, said: “We have a great chance of qualifying because I firmly believe we have enough quality in the squad. We have been placed in a tough group with only the top two teams qualifying for the tournament’s latter stages in the UAE … but we have to believe.”
Bahrain will be flying out on Sunday to Turkmenistan, a country in Central Asia bordered by the Caspian Sea and largely covered by the Karakum Desert, to play in the next qualification match two days later. Also in Group E are Singapore and Chinese Taipei.
Bahrain started the cup journey in the kingdom against Singapore in March and the game ended in a goalless draw with a performance that did not impress the new coach.
He bemoaned the players lack of a killer ‘final touch’ but is confident after serious sessions on the training pitch that the team is now capable of edging Turkmenistan, currently sitting on top of the table, and jumping ahead of them in the early standings.
Bahrain is seeking to qualify for a fourth consecutive AFC Asian Cup Finals having exited in the group stage at the last three tournaments following an impressive fourth-place finish in China 13 years ago.
Soukup is hoping the football authorities in the kingdom will help his quest with some controversial steps to help develop the game on the island. He wants to reduce the number of foreign players plying their trade in the VIVA First Division and make it mandatory that every club plays at least one Under 21 player in every match.
He said: “Bahrain has a lot of young talented players and if we start working systematically on developing them they could become the finest footballers in the Gulf region.
“The big clubs need to focus on local footballers rather than bringing in foreign players.”
It is understood that Bahrain Football Association executives are currently working on introducing new rules which will restrict league clubs playing in the top division to only three internationals and the second division teams will be limited to two.
“I think this would be a progressive step,” said Soukup, “and give the kingdom’s players a better chance of gaining more play time.
“The idea is to have each club fielding at least one Under 21 player in EVERY match. Even if the coach decides to substitute the youngster during a game he will have to replace him with a similarly-aged younger player, so they’ll need at least two or three in each squad to cover injuries.
“These talented youngsters would soon gain the necessary competitive experience and as a result we would be building for a stronger future.
“We must focus on these young athletes so that in a few years’ time they can be ready for the big challenges ahead, such as helping Bahrain reach the 2022 World Cup Finals in Qatar. Our football association’s Future Programme means business.”
Like any new coach, the timing of introducing fresh blood into an aging, under-achieving squad is a delicate matter.
“We have to start somewhere and this is the way forward,” said Soukup. “We need to build a new team but supporters need to be patient. Everyone feels like the team needs new blood but it’s a very hard job to change the squad and at the same time achieve the desired results. Getting the blend of experience and youth is the challenge.”
Bahrain’s former Argentinian coach Sergio ‘Checho’ Batista had a similar goal and called for a more professional approach during his time in charge. He was brought in to cultivate a stronger squad with the hopes of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia but results ‘did not meet expectations for a number of different reasons’ and despite the BFA asking him to carry on Batista departed due to health and family issues.
Coach Soukup says he agreed with some of the Argentinian’s concerns. “Players need to be training twice-a-day. Bottom line, we are working on developing a stronger squad and focusing on the talent in Bahrain.”
He comes with a pedigree of developing young talent. Soukup has managed several U17, U19, U20 and U21 teams around the world. He helped lead the Czech Republic’s U20 football team to the final of the 2007 FIFA U20 World Cup held in Canada and was also manager of the bronze medal-winning Czech Republic U19s at the 2006 UEFA European Football Championship.
He was also manager of Egypt’s U20 football team and the Yemen senior team before joining the Bahrain set-up last year on a two-year contract. The first step is simple - qualifying for the AFC Cup Finals.
