Bahrain coach feels the heat

"We can do it," said the 53-year-old Belgian who took over as Bahrain coach from German Wolfgang Sidka in June.

Peruzovic is aware of the mountain ahead of him, and the reward behind it too, but his calm demeanour hardly reveals the pulls and pressures he is presently under.

Only two of his 11 professionals playing in Kuwait and Qatar are with the team training at the National Stadium; travel plans for two 16-hour journeys half-way across the globe have to be tackled; and, more importantly, practice schedules and warm-up matches are yet to be finalised.

But Peruzovic is optimistic and confident that things will fall in place, hurdles cleared and his team, sponsored by Batelco, will ultimately triumph in the two-leg showdown.

The opposition are no pushovers either, and are as eager and excited as Bahrain to make their first-ever entry in a World Cup.

Trinidad and Tobago have a Dutch master as coach, Leo Beenhakker who was formerly in charge of Real Madrid; an inspirational forward in Dwight Yorke, who played for Manchester United at his prime, and a top FIFA official as a wealthy well-wisher— Jack Warner who is pumping in millions of dollars of his own money into his country’s campaign for a World Cup ticket.

Peruzovic, however, seemed unperturbed as he spoke of Bahrain’s performance so far under him.

"I cannot talk about our performance against North Korea because some players were playing for the first time. I can talk about the performance against Uzbekistan. All major players played this playoff except Ala’a Hubail, who was just returning from injury," said the former coach of Standard Liege of Belgium.

"I think the team’s performance in the last two matches against Uzbekistan was very good. The players went into both matches with a similar idea and mentality and worked together towards one target which was to pass that stage and they did."

Yet, Peruzovic was not happy.

"When I took over the team in July, I had a problem with not having all the players here. Most of my players were either in Qatar or Kuwait," said Peruzovic who played in the 1974 World Cup for Yugoslavia.

"Some players were also recovering from injuries like Hussain Baba, Rashid Al Dossary and Mohammed Salmeen while some like Mahmood Jalal had to do his university examination in Cairo. So I had to take a decision of including more players and new faces to the team."

Peruszovic also dismissed the notion that Bahrain is ultra-defensive.

"No, I don’t believe Bahrain is playing defensively. In the last two matches against Uzbekistan we created so many scoring chances."

Passing the Uzbekistan hurdle was a major achievement for Bahrain as it took them one more step closer to realising a long-cherished dream of playing in a World Cup.

"I had to turn a new page after our match against Uzbekistan. We have to maintain our concentration as this is the most important moment for Bahrain football."

But Bahrain is yet to taste victory under Peruzovic. "I don’t think that really matters," he said. "I am more concerned about preparing for the Trinidad match right now. I am waiting for the rest of my players to come. Of course, what is on my mind at the moment is to have them back without injuries so we can resume our preparations for these two matches."

Bahrain’s task against Trinidad is made even more difficult as 11 of the national team players are with yellow cards. "I have to think about that. I must prepare other solutions and that’s why we started our preparations earlier," said Peruzovic. The other more crucial problem facing Bahrain is the question mark against key player Ala’a Hubail’s name.

The star striker, who was joint top scorer at the Asian Championship in Beijing last year where Bahrain finished fourth, is just back from long-term injury and played only the last 10 minutes in the matches against Uzbekistan.

"He is better than before and is recovering faster. Ala’a was out for over eight months and I hope he can be 100 percent fit for the next play-off.

"This is a knock-out system, so we need to be very cautious. Trinidad is also a strong team, but I have faith in the players I have, including those who were recently included."

But Trinidad and Tobago is altogether a new challenge for Bahrain as they know very little about the Caribbean side who have many players playing in the European and South American leagues.

"At this moment, the Bahrain players know very little, but they will watch tapes of Trinidad matches which will help them get more information about their opponents and how to battle with them."

Many feel Bahrain have an advantage as they get to play the second-leg at home and also get more time for aclimatisation ahead of the first-leg.

But according to Peruzovic the distance is more importnat. "We have to make two flights while they will have to fly only once which will not be an advantage for us. But it is good for us to play the second-leg at home," reasoned Peruzovic.

"I do not think it is a fair situation for both teams because we will have to make a 16-hour journey to Trinidad and then come back."

On the other hand, Peruzovic is happy with all other facilities at his disposal. "Everyone here is helpful and supportive. People are giving the maximum they can which I really appreciate. We all need to put our efforts together at this important stage.

"To me, I have the best team in the world. This is my team for the moment. We have weakness in the attack, but I don’t want to talk about it." "But I would have loved to have the professional players for a longer time but I know how to find alternatives by selecting new players.

"I know the Fifa rules which gives five days for any national team coach to meet with his professionals so why should I complain?" Peruzovic summed up. The final question.

What are your plans in case— (A) Bahrain qualifies for the World Cup; (B) Bahrain fails to qualify for the World Cup. "I don’t have plans. I have a one-year contract. I would like Bahrain to qualify for the World Cup even if my contract is not renewed. But all that I am thinking of right now is to beat Trinidad and go to Germany," he said.