DOHA: Kuwait may be the bottom seeds in Group A, but few teams will enter the Asian Cup with as much recent experience of lifting silverware as Goran Tufegdzic’s (pic) rejuvenated outfit.
’Al Azraq’ (The Blues), who begin their campaign against China on Jan 8, will be bidding to start the year in positive fashion after ending a long, 12-year wait for silverware in 2010.
In October they won the West Asian Football Federation Championship on their maiden appearance, defeating defending champions Iran 2-1 in the final in Jordan.
They took their momentum into the Gulf Cup of Nations in Yemen at the end of the year and emerged with their 10th trophy in the event’s history – and first since 1998 – after Walid Ali Jumah’s extra-time long-ranger earned a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in the final.
Key to the upturn in the country’s fortunes has been inspirational Serbian coach Tufegdzic.
The 39-year-old was promoted from his role as assistant coach in February 2009 and within 20 months he had ended a trophy drought stretching back to Kuwait’s previous Gulf Cup success under Czech coach Milan Macala in 1998.
Tufegdzic’s renovation of the squad yielded rich dividends, with striker Bader Al-Mutawa finishing as top scorer, captain Nawaf Al-Khalidi crowned best goalkeeper and winger Fahad Al-Enezi voted player of the tournament.
“I feel this is a second phase of Kuwaits golden era in football,” said Tufegdzic. “Our next target is the Asian Cup.”
After tackling China, Kuwait meet Uzbekistan on Jan 12 before a potentially decisive game with hosts Qatar on Jan 16.
They will take heart from their most recent encounter with Qatar, which saw Kuwait prevail through a Yousef Nasser goal in the Gulf Cup group phase in November.
It is 31 years since Kuwait’s one and only triumph in the Asian Cup and 29 years since their only appearance to date at a World Cup – a group-stage exit in Spain in 1982.
The brilliance of their maverick coach, however, means that the country’s football fans are dreaming big once again.
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