Kuala Lumpur: The last time the AFC Asian Cup was played in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia arrived in Abu Dhabi with their chances being written off. 



A disappointing Gulf Cup performance saw head coach Ze Mario replaced with Nelo Vingada as expectations plummeted. Three weeks later, the trophy was heading back to Riyadh.

The mood was downbeat and the hopes low when Nelo Vingada led his team off the flight from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi in the days leading up to start of the 11th edition of the AFC Asian Cup.



Saudi Arabia may have only been playing in their fourth AFC Asian Cup, but already they had made the tournament their own; title wins in 1984 and 1988 and a run to the final in 1992, when they lost narrowly to hosts Japan, ensured the Saudis were the dominant force in Asian football as the AFC Asian Cup was about to kick off in the United Arab Emirates.

 


But as the squad arrived for another tilt at the title, the confidence that should have flowed through the team was missing. A third place finish at the Gulf Cup in Oman just weeks earlier had seen Brazilian coach Ze Mario fired and, in his place, came Portugal’s Vingada.

Vingada brought with him a reputation forged with the youth teams of his homeland, but few expected him to turn around Saudi fortunes to launch a genuine challenge for the title.

While Saudi Arabia retained a fearsome reputation off the back of their impressive performances at the FIFA World Cup in the United States two years earlier, there had been changes aplenty.

Only nine players remained from the squad that reached the Round of 16 in 1994 while the draw had pitted them against a resurgent Islamic Republic of Iran, a talented Iraq and Thailand, the kings of Southeast Asia. Saudi Arabia’s dominance of the AFC Asian Cup looked under threat.

“We hadn’t done a really good job in Oman in the Gulf Cup,” says Sami Al Jaber, who had been a member of the FIFA World Cup squad and remained in the line-up for the 1996 AFC Asian Cup.

“We were far away from coming back to our best. After the World Cup in 1994, 50 or 60 percent of the players had changed and for the young players the Gulf Cup wasn’t a very good tournament.

“So the people in Saudi Arabia were saying we didn’t have a chance to win the Asian Cup. The media was saying (Islamic Republic of) Iran were a strong team at that time, and everybody knew that the UAE had prepared well. China PR, Korea Republic, all the teams at that time, you can say that they were better than Saudi Arabia.

“But what happened was we went there without pressure. The young players were talented, but they were maybe a little careless under pressure. They went there with three, four, five experienced players but that was it. But we had a very strong group stage and things went well from there.”

A 6-0 defeat of the Thais in their opening game in Dubai dispelled any doubts and a 1-0 win over Iraq ensured the Saudis would qualify for the quarter-finals even before their 3-0 loss against Iran in the final group game.

That set up an epic encounter with China in the last eight in a game still rated as one of the greatest in the history of the AFC Asian Cup.

“We were, after 20 minutes, 2-0 down and that game is unforgettable,” says Al Jaber, whose team went behind to goals from Zhang Enhua and Peng Weiguo. “China were controlling everything after 20 minutes, but by the end of the first half it was 2-1, then 2-2 and then 3-2.”

Veteran midfielder Yousef Al Thuniyan was the catalyst for the comeback, introduced off the bench in the 30th minute for full-back Mohammad Jahani and, just moments later, he had pulled one back for the Saudis before Al Jaber hit the equaliser. Fahad Mahalel then put his side in front in the 43rd minute.

“The second half we totally controlled and we ended up winning 4-3,” says Al Jaber. “China were really strong at that time, but Youssef Al Thuniyan was one of the heroes because he came off the bench in that game and he gave us the power to come back. He was a big leader and he made us better. He helped that whole generation.”

That set up a rematch with Iran in the semi-finals – a game the Saudis won on penalties thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Mohammed Al Daeyea – to leave Al Jaber and company facing hosts the UAE in the final.

“Iran had Ali Daei, Khodadad Azizi, Karim Bagheri, Mehdi Mahdavikia,” says Al Jaber. “They were a top, top team. They were number one in the tournament, the best team and everyone thought they would win the Asian Cup for sure.

“But we played a great game, a fantastic defensive game, it was 0-0 and we won on penalties because we had a fantastic goalkeeper in Mohammed Al Daeyea. We won the Asian Cup because he stopped penalties against Iran in the semi-finals and against UAE in the final."

“At that time, this was one of the best teams ever in the history of UAE: Adnan Al Talyani, Mohammed Ali, Bakheet Saad. I remember there was one big chance for Al Talyani and Al Daeyea was down but he missed it. If you give this chance to Adnan Al Talyani 10 times, he wouldn’t miss it. But we played penalties against UAE and we did the job.”

For the third time in four tournaments, the trophy was heading back to Riyadh. But the significance of that win – a record equaling third for the country - went further than the 1996 AFC Asian Cup, believes Al Jaber.

 


“I think this was a very important win for us because it gave us power, because the next year the same generation was playing in qualifying for the World Cup, and we were in the same group as Iran, China and Qatar,” he says.

“It wasn’t easy. We won the Asian Cup and we came back and it was very good for that generation to feel like champions, to go with a different spirit in the qualification games. Most of them at that time, 80 percent of the players or 70 percent, hadn’t played at the World Cup at that time. Winning the Asian Cup changed everything.”

Photos: AFP


Source: the-afc.com