Bahrain and Iran not taking third place lightly

ASIANCUP2004 - Third place playoffs may generally be regarded as meaningless, anti-climactic affairs but both Bahrain and Iran are taking Friday’s showdown at the Workers’ Stadium very seriously.

The two sides may be coming off heartbreaking semi-final defeats but still have plenty of motivation for the tournament’s penultimate match. While tournament upstarts Bahrain will be keen to make a good impression in their final match at the Asian Cup, the Iranians will be looking to bounce back from their penalty shootout defeat to hosts China and avenge a painful loss to the Bahrainis in 2001.

Speaking to FootballAsia.com, Bahrain coach Srecko Juricic said that the Bahrainis want to round out their impressive campaign in China with a strong performance against the Iranians.

“Of course, it is better to finish third than fourth,” said Juricic, whose side went down 4-3 in extra time to Japan on Tuesday. “We have done well so far in the Asian Cup and made a good impression on many people here. So we do not want to finish the tournament by playing a bad game.”

Juricic’s opposite number and fellow Croat, Branko Ivankovic, knows more than most about the importance of such an occasion.

“Many people may think that that a third place game is not important but I was a coach for Croatia when we beat Holland in the 1998 World Cup and I know how keen the players were to play in that game,” said Ivankovic.

“You win a bronze medal if you finish third and you will have better memories of what happened in the tournament. If we win against Bahrain, we will be very happy. It is very important for us especially as we don’t want to lose a match [in regulation time] during this competition.”

The Iranians will be seeking a lift after falling on penalties to China and missing out yet again on the Asian Cup, which they have not lifted since 1976. Adding to their motivation is the desire to avenge a 3-1 loss to the Bahrainis during the 2002 World Cup Qualifiers that ultimately cost the Persians a spot in the final rounds in Korea/Japan.

“We would hope that they would not be up for the game but some of the Iran team still remember that game from three years ago,” said Juricic.

“I wasn’t in charge of Bahrain then but I watched that game and I thought that Iran didn’t play well and maybe underestimated Bahrain, who were motivated to play for the result.

“They will definitely not be taking our team lightly again when they play us on Friday.”

While Juricic is taking the game seriously, he expects to make a few changes to his starting line-up as they prepare for their sixth game in three weeks.

“Fatigue is certainly a factor at this point of a tournament. I will probably make three to four changes and give some of the players who haven’t played yet an opportunity to start in the match.”

Understandably, Juricic will not be replacing striker A’ala Hubail, who is the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals.

“Of course, I cannot replace my best players in this game. I would especially never think of replacing A’ala Hubail because it is not everyday that you get a chance to become tournament top scorer. It is good for him and team morale to know that we have the top scorer playing for us.”

Iran have three players definitely out with Sattar Zare and Sayyed Mohammad Alavi suspended after receiving red cards against China, while Mohammad Nosrati serves the final match of his four-match ban for stamping on Oman’s Imad Ali during the group stage.