Bahrain’s loss to Qatar at the opening of its campaign in “Gulf 27” was not related, from the point of view of its Croatian coach Dragan Talajic, to the technical aspect alone, as the heat of the atmosphere was strongly prevalent in his interpretation of the match, while the Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui, Qatar’s coach, spoke about the difficult climatic and humidity conditions, even though his country emerged victorious with two unanswered goals.
While the two coaches went on to talk about the impact of the weather, the statements of Akram Afif and Hassan Al-Haydos from within the Qatari team came with a different reading. The Qatari winger refused to turn the humidity and the pitch into justifications, stressing that the same conditions were experienced by the opposing team.
The situation was very difficult
Qatar national team coach Lopetegui did not deny the difficult circumstances surrounding the confrontation with Bahrain, but at the same time he praised what his players presented.
The Qatar coach said in the press conference after the match that the situation was “very difficult.” Due to the humidity and heat of the weather, but he confirmed that the match was good, and that his players gave an outstanding performance despite these data.
He added that the Qatari team will rest before the next confrontation against Yemen, praising the great effort made by the players against the Bahrain team, the holders of the last edition's title, and stressing his focus on the positives and spirit in which the team appeared.
Lopetegui's statements were not in the context of holding the weather responsible for the result, as much as they were a description of the conditions in which the Qatari team played the match, especially since his team was able to overcome them and achieve victory.
On the other hand, Dragan Talajic's speech was more related to the result.
The Bahrain coach said after the match that he came to the tournament to achieve victory, congratulating the Qatari team on the victory, before pointing out that the weather temperature was very impressive, and that his team was unable to keep up with Qatar in the second half.
In the match between Iraq and Oman, weather conditions were also present in Ayman Hussein’s speech, who pointed out after the match the difficult weather and high humidity, explaining that the players are not accustomed to such conditions.
Talking about the climate has become one of the headlines accompanying the first round, but the question remains whether the weather is a direct cause of the result or just one of the factors that affect the physical load of the players? There is a big difference between the two things.
Hassan Al-Haydos chose to focus on the sporting aspect, and considered the Qatari team’s start successful after defeating the Bahrain team, the title holder of the last edition.
The victory over the defending champion gave Qatar 3 important points at the beginning of its journey, while the Bahraini team now required compensation in the next round.
For Al-Haydos and Afif, the message seems clear: the match is played under the same conditions, and the team most capable of dealing with it is the one who emerges with the result.
On the other hand, Akram Afif provided the clearest reading. After the match, the Qatari player refused to treat the humidity and the pitch as excuses, saying: “The humidity is on us and on the opposing team... We should not complain.”
He also pointed out that the pitch is available for both teams, and therefore it cannot be a reason to justify the decline of one of them.
Afif’s logic is based on a simple truth in short tournaments: “If the same circumstances surround both teams, then dealing with them becomes part of the competition and preparation for the match, and not an exclusive factor for one of the parties. “The weather is an influential factor, but it is not exclusive.”
It cannot be denied that playing in hot and humid conditions represents a physical burden, especially with matches that are close in time, but turning the weather into a ready interpretation of the results requires a greater degree of caution.
Weather conditions are part of the tournament environment, and the Gulf teams know the nature of the climate in which they will play, and the majority of their players are accustomed to varying degrees to the atmosphere of the region.
As for what happened in the first round, in the end it remains the result of a group of factors. Technical, physical, tactical and mental, in addition to climatic conditions.
In “Gulf 27”, the weather may be one of the tests facing the teams, but it is not a test for one team or another.
The temperature is the same, and the humidity varies, but in the end football does not award points to the one who has the most convincing excuses, but rather to the one who makes the best use of the 90 minutes.
