Soccer-Bahrain not asking for the moon from this Eid

Reuters

By Amlan Chakraborty Jan 7 (Reuters) - Bahrain's Marjan Eid enters the Asian Cup as perhaps the tournament's least recognised coach but his relative obscurity also means he is likely to be the least under pressure as well. Eid was named the caretaker coach for the tournament only in mid-November, inheriting a team in the throes of a tricky transition. 'The Red' secured their fourth consecutive Asian Cup finals appearance in style and with two games to spare before the wheels came off with turmoil at the top. Englishman Anthony Hudson's shock exit in July to take over as the New Zealand head coach led to Adnan Hamad's appointment on a two-year term but the 2004 AFC Coach of the Year was shown the door in November, paying the price for Bahrain's dismal start to the 2014 Gulf Cup of Nations campaign. "He did his best with the team, but wasn't lucky. Sacking a coach is a part and parcel of the game," Eid, then Hamad's deputy, was quoted as saying by Qatari sports weekly Doha Stadium Plus, after his elevation as Bahrain's third coach in five months. Bahrain are the lowest ranked Group C team, clubbed with Asian heavyweights Iran, Gulf Cup of Nations champions Qatar and dark horse the United Arab Emirates. Barring their die-hard fans, few see them advancing to the knockout phase for only the second time and this lack of expectation would allow Eid's team to play with more freedom. Even in the short time he has been in charge, Eid seemed to have already engineered a change in the fortunes of the 122nd ranked mostly-local squad. Eid picked seven players each from Bahraini Premier League champions Riffa SC and runners-up Al-Muharraq to form the core of the squad while inducting three foreign-based players, including the Qatari-based strike duo of Faouzi Aaish and Jaycee John. Vindicating his selection, the team thumped Saudi Arabia 4-1 last week and followed it up with a 1-0 win against Jordan on Sunday, rekindling hopes of matching their 2004 performance when Bahrain reached the semi-finals in China. Eid's decision to bring back Aaish, ignored by Hamad on disciplinary grounds, has also paid off with the Al Sailiya striker opening the team's account against Saudi Arabia and scoring the winner against Jordan from a free-kick 25 yards out from goal. Playing his third Asian Cup finals, striker Ismail Abdul Latif's brace against Saudi Arabia will also ease whatever worries Eid had about the forward line. "The team has the potential to do well at the Asian Cup. We'll overcome the Gulf Cup loss and start afresh," the former national team defender added. (Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)