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Al Ahli Club, the fallen giants of Bahrain’s football elite, are battling back from the misery of relegation and aiming for a return to top flight action in the Viva First Division.
This season the club, more used to rubbing shoulders for glory with arch-rivals Muharraq, are now plying their trade alongside the minnows of the island’s second tier such as Qalali, Budaiya and Tadamun Buri.
It’s been a tough few months for the players, management and fans who have been licking their wounds and concentrating on the task at hand of rejuvenating the club and restoring pride.
Al Ahli Club board member and football manager Abdulaziz bu Khamseen admitted: “To fall was not a great feeling. It hurts.
“Al Ahli is a club with such tradition and history and to drop down to the second division was just unheard of.
“We have been playing since 1936 and are one of the best known football teams in the region. But this happens to all the best clubs in the world. Situations come up – injuries, top players leaving, or just not cutting it. Things added up and it all led to our demise.”
It’s a story only too familiar in European football with the likes of former Champions League contenders Leeds United now struggling in the second tier of English football and hoping new owners in Bahrain and Dubai will help bring back the glory days.
The last time Al Ahli competed in the second tier in Bahrain was more than 50 years ago. Formerly known as Al Nusoor, Al Ahli and Muharraq Club have often been considered as the ‘pillars of sport’ in Bahrain.
Clashes between Al Ahli and Muharraq have attracted the largest attendances and were considered by many to be the true ‘Bahrain derby’.
The club has also been renowned for developing young players, such as A’ala Hubail (the Asian Cup 2004 top scorer), Ali Saeed, Mohammed Hubail and Mohammed Husain.
And Al Ahli remain determined to re-join the big boys in the soccer-mad Gulf region, Bu Khamseen admitted, in the first official interview the beleaguered club has given, that it is never far from their thoughts: “Now the game plan is to try our best to overcome adversity. We are being watched by everyone.
“Some may have assumed we would rise quickly simply because of our name but the reality is different. It needs hard work and determination to succeed and we have to live with the pressure.”
According to Bu Khamseen the nature of football in the kingdom has changed too as, on the one hand the game is being run more professionally but on the other the mind-set of those involved has been seduced by monetary considerations, as is the case globally as many despondent fans would agree.
“A player, who used to compete for the love of the game or the club, or to proudly wear the team shirt, is now the player who will ask during trading, what’s the package? That is their right as life has changed too.
“So we try as much as possible to raise the team and aid the players with whatever they need.”’
This season Al Ahli are challenging near the top of the second division with a race for the two promotion spots being fought out alongside Sitra, Al Ittihad and East Riffa.
In recent games they have fallen by the odd goal against their main rivals but still sit just a few points off the top.
Al Ahli bounced back with an authoritative 5-1 victory against strugglers Tadamun Buri.
Although match day attendances may be mediocre every encounter has proved to be a ‘pressure game’ because even the smaller village sides hope to take a big-name scalp.
“All the teams we are playing either want to prove that they can beat us or at least prove they are equal to us,” said bu Khamseen.
bu Khamseen and Serbian coach Dragan shared a few encouraging words with the first team squad during a Sunday evening training session covered by GulfWeekly at the club’s impressive stadium in Mahooz.
These sporting facilities were recently given a BD150,000 facelift by the General Organisation for Youth and Sports (GOYS) in time for the Gulf Cup tournament as they was used as a training facility. The project included full renovation on the club’s multi-purpose sports gym, featuring handball, basketball and volleyball courts, referees and players changing rooms and other health facilities.
Training for the players has been intensified in recent weeks as the club prepares for the second half of the season which kicked off yesterday. The management believes fitness will play a vital role in the battle for promotion by the end of the season in May.
Bu Khamseen said: “We will work hard and keep in mind that as hard as we will be working to achieve a higher level so will the other teams. But we remain steadfast and confident that we can see this job through to the desired conclusion.”
