Salih Zakaria and Khaleeji 8

Nasser Al-Anzi

Our national team played one half well and retreated in the other against their Saudi brothers, the Green Falcons. That was not enough to avoid defeat by a “reverse” goal that found our net at a critical moment, headed by defender Yousef Al-Haqan. He and his teammate Abdulaziz Bin Naji delivered an excellent performance that deserves praise in their early international appearances.

Tomorrow, “The Blues” face their second match against the Iraqi national team and have no choice but to win. This can only be achieved through a strong desire to win and a push for organized attacking play, as our squad features players capable of doing so. In fact, we hope Yousef Nasser is included in the starting lineup from the outset, given his ability to trouble the opponent’s defense and score.

Many well-known names in the coaching world have overseen “The Blues,” achieving multiple successes with them. However, our current Portuguese coach, Helio Souza, is among the “boldest” rather than the best coaches, as he has adopted a strategy of completely rotating the lineup in every match, just as he did in last year’s Arab Cup. In the past, the national team’s roster was brimming with talented names across all positions, and the coach would hesitate in selecting the starting lineup. At one point, Carlos Alberto even placed Faisal Al-Dakhil on the bench.

Salah Zakaria, Khalil Al-Zayani, Nasser Al-Johar, Amu Baba, Rashid Jaber, and Mahdi Ali are among the most prominent coaches who have led their national teams in the Gulf Cup. Notably, no national coach has participated in this tournament. “The Blues” veteran coach Salah Zakaria won the title with his stars at the 1986 Gulf Cup (the eighth edition), just one week before the lifting of the ban on our national team. At that moment, prestige asserted itself on the field, and in the end, Faisal Al-Dakhil and Al-Anbari lifted the trophy.