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WC Comment: Cold Wind And Hot Air - Resolute Bahrain Can Make History
The tiny Gulf State is on the brink writes Asia Editor John Duerden.
Nov 12, 2009 9:31:28 PM
26-10. This is not a rugby result of the kind that All Blacks fans would be familiar with. Rather they were the respective temperatures in Sydney and
Wellington earlier this week.
It was
quite a difference.
It seems as if summer is in full flow and skipping down the street in Australia but is still struggling to take off its jacket in New Zealand.
Much has been made of Bahrain’s decision to acclimatise and prepare for the second leg of their 2010 World Cup decider in Sydney rather than across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand's capital - the city where the game will actually be played.
After a first leg last month that finished goalless, five days in Australia went down very well for a team that just needs a score draw or a win to go to the World Cup for the very first time.
Behind closed doors, team officials say they preferred the peace and quiet of a city that was largely unaware of their presence (Bahrain haven't rated a mention in the Sydney media and that's the way Macala likes it- said NZ paper The Dominion Post) over a Wellington full of wind, microphones, cameras and inquisitive eyes.
It remains to be seen if that makes sense but it does seem rather like ‘warming up’ for a game in England by holding an Icelandic training camp. New Zealand captain Ryan Nelsen was certainly nonplussed. "I was very surprised because there's a two-hour difference from Australia and the weather's going to be completely different," said the Blackburn Rovers defender.
Nelsen went a little bit further and provided a wishlist of Wellington weather. "A good, dirty southerly, some beautiful Wellington wind, and a nice bit of sleet," he said.
The effects of cold winds can be overblown however and the Reds are more resolute than some may think. While it is true that Bahrain are not great travelers and rarely play outside Asia -apart from recent matches in Australia, the last time they left the continent was to head to Trinidad & Tobago at the same stage four years ago – but the team has played in lower temperatures and won.
It was a chilly March afternoon in 2005 when the Reds went to Pyongyang, a rather tougher environment that Wellington, for a vital World Cup qualifier that ended 2-1 for the visitors, albeit a little fortunately.
New Zealand will also do well to remember the exploits of another West Asian team back in 2004. Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma went to Saudi Arabia in November 2004 to win 3-1 at Al Ittiihad in the first leg of the 2004 Asian Champions League final.
Back in South Korea for the second leg, the destination of the trophy was a foregone conclusion. The two goal cushion, the three away strikes and, last but not least, a bitterly cold South Korean December evening with temperatures that sank well below zero waiting to greet the Saudis were three reasons why the Seoul media was already taking of a second continental Chunma championship.
Al Ittihad won 5-0 and were celebrating on the frozen pitch, long after the locals had gone home, stunned from the cold and the goals.
Whatever the Wellington weather, in the Cake-Tin (aka The Westpac Stadium) the atmosphere will be red hot. It is the team that handles that pressure better that will triumph and take that place in South Africa next June. Bahrain came through a similar test in front of almost 70,000 fans in Riyadh in September.
As well as the cold wind, there is a good deal of hot air emanating from both camps but both sides can be forgiven for sounding rather too happy with their opposition.
Last month, the Gulf Daily News called New Zealand ‘cocky’. In Goal.com’s fan-vs-fan preview, Bahrain’s representative Mohammed Al Saqr bin Mohammed earned himself instant notoriety down under with some of his answers.
Labels of cockiness can be understood with players, current and former, on both sides telling anybody who will listen that this is their best chance of the World Cup. And so it is.
It is not cocky for Bahrain to be happy to play New Zealand just needing a score draw to qualify for a first World Cup and it is not cocky for the Kiwis to be looking forward to a home match against Bahrain.
It is a great chance for both teams but only one will make it to South Africa.
John Duerden, Goal.com
Can an African team win next summer's World Cup? Find out in the November issue of Goal.com Magazine.
It seems as if summer is in full flow and skipping down the street in Australia but is still struggling to take off its jacket in New Zealand.
Much has been made of Bahrain’s decision to acclimatise and prepare for the second leg of their 2010 World Cup decider in Sydney rather than across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand's capital - the city where the game will actually be played.
After a first leg last month that finished goalless, five days in Australia went down very well for a team that just needs a score draw or a win to go to the World Cup for the very first time.
Behind closed doors, team officials say they preferred the peace and quiet of a city that was largely unaware of their presence (Bahrain haven't rated a mention in the Sydney media and that's the way Macala likes it- said NZ paper The Dominion Post) over a Wellington full of wind, microphones, cameras and inquisitive eyes.
Mohamed Salmeen Points The Way
It remains to be seen if that makes sense but it does seem rather like ‘warming up’ for a game in England by holding an Icelandic training camp. New Zealand captain Ryan Nelsen was certainly nonplussed. "I was very surprised because there's a two-hour difference from Australia and the weather's going to be completely different," said the Blackburn Rovers defender.
Nelsen went a little bit further and provided a wishlist of Wellington weather. "A good, dirty southerly, some beautiful Wellington wind, and a nice bit of sleet," he said.
The effects of cold winds can be overblown however and the Reds are more resolute than some may think. While it is true that Bahrain are not great travelers and rarely play outside Asia -apart from recent matches in Australia, the last time they left the continent was to head to Trinidad & Tobago at the same stage four years ago – but the team has played in lower temperatures and won.
It was a chilly March afternoon in 2005 when the Reds went to Pyongyang, a rather tougher environment that Wellington, for a vital World Cup qualifier that ended 2-1 for the visitors, albeit a little fortunately.
The Reds Are Resolute
New Zealand will also do well to remember the exploits of another West Asian team back in 2004. Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma went to Saudi Arabia in November 2004 to win 3-1 at Al Ittiihad in the first leg of the 2004 Asian Champions League final.
Back in South Korea for the second leg, the destination of the trophy was a foregone conclusion. The two goal cushion, the three away strikes and, last but not least, a bitterly cold South Korean December evening with temperatures that sank well below zero waiting to greet the Saudis were three reasons why the Seoul media was already taking of a second continental Chunma championship.
Al Ittihad won 5-0 and were celebrating on the frozen pitch, long after the locals had gone home, stunned from the cold and the goals.
Whatever the Wellington weather, in the Cake-Tin (aka The Westpac Stadium) the atmosphere will be red hot. It is the team that handles that pressure better that will triumph and take that place in South Africa next June. Bahrain came through a similar test in front of almost 70,000 fans in Riyadh in September.
Jaycee John Silenced Almost 70,000 In Riyadh
As well as the cold wind, there is a good deal of hot air emanating from both camps but both sides can be forgiven for sounding rather too happy with their opposition.
Last month, the Gulf Daily News called New Zealand ‘cocky’. In Goal.com’s fan-vs-fan preview, Bahrain’s representative Mohammed Al Saqr bin Mohammed earned himself instant notoriety down under with some of his answers.
Labels of cockiness can be understood with players, current and former, on both sides telling anybody who will listen that this is their best chance of the World Cup. And so it is.
It is not cocky for Bahrain to be happy to play New Zealand just needing a score draw to qualify for a first World Cup and it is not cocky for the Kiwis to be looking forward to a home match against Bahrain.
It is a great chance for both teams but only one will make it to South Africa.
John Duerden, Goal.com
Can an African team win next summer's World Cup? Find out in the November issue of Goal.com Magazine.
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