Here to compete in the OFC President’s Cup, Bahrain is back – well, sort of.
Busaiteen, the former Bahraini Premier League champions and Cup winners, arrived in New Zealand yesterday and the topic of Anthony Hudson, former Bahrain national team coach and now All Whites boss, popped up straight away for young midfielder Mujtaba Malek.
Malek, a powerfully built midfielder with international age group caps for Bahrain at U-23 level, has a deep respect for his former coach Hudson, who he regards as his mentor.
“I learned a lot from Anthony Hudson while he was coach for the Bahrain national set-up. He has a unique style and approach of coaching.
“You either fit in or fall out within his system. If you fit in, then Anthony has the ability to enhance your game,” Malek says.
“It would be good to see Anthony before the OFC President’s Cup is finished but my focus for being here is to deliver my best performances in the OFC President’s Cup,” he adds.
Hail stones, rain and inclement weather greeted Busaiteen’s footballers in Auckland yesterday but Malek and his team have clear objectives on and off the pitch.
Technical Director Ali Abdulmejeed Ali is aware football is far from the number one sport in New Zealand where rugby and rugby league reign supreme.
“We have a good team and a great fan base back home but in New Zealand and Oceania we are here to help build new football fans. We are a team that will win fans over as we play with heart.
Despite Busaiteen’s relative paucity of knowledge of the teams they’ll face, they remain wary of drawing too many assumptions about Auckland City FC, Amicale or Fiji U-20.
“We respect all of them. All opponents are good that is why they are in the OFC President’s Cup. We will do what we do and they will do what they do and the results will speak for themselves,” Ahmed says.
The full time professional side take on Vanuatu side Amicale on Wednesday 19 November in the six team competition at The Trusts Arena before facing Fiji U-20 two days later.
They could face Auckland City FC in Sunday’s final – depending on whether the reigning New Zealand champions can win a group containing Cayman Islands side Bodden Town and Singapore U-23.
Busaiteen assistant coach Ahmed Sowar says the squad is injury free and highly motivated to perform to their best despite the cold conditions they face.
“The team are working through a 48 hour body conditioning process with specific diet and fluid intake to adapt to the weather here.
“We want a refreshed team for the Sunday morning training run so we can work with our line-up for the first match,” he says.
And in case there was any doubts about Busaiteen’s motivation for the OFC President’s Cup, they were dispelled by their highly regarded coach Khalifa Al Zayari.
“We are in New Zealand playing for our national pride and we are playing for our King especially HM Sheikh Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa,” he says.
The impression left is that Busaiteen Club mean business at the OFC President’s Cup.
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Story sourced from Ethnic Media 360.