H\u00e9lio Sousa stamps his spectacular 2019<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s becoming clear that if any Asian nation wants to make an immediate splash, it better go hire a Portuguese-speaking coach. M\u00e1rio Zagallo famously took Kuwait to the 1976 Asian Cup final (the country\u2019s second ever appearance, no less) a mere few weeks into his two-year tenure, while Jorvan Vieira wasted no time in Iraq, taking them to the WAFF Championship final and, of course, the biggest of all – winning the 2007 Asian Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both of these instant impacts have interesting back stories \u2013 Iraqi players were ready to pay out half of Vieira\u2019s contract to see him go just before the historic tournament, while Zagallo had won three World Cups before finally growing bored with Brazil and venturing into Middle East to prove himself further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n H\u00e9lio Sousa might still be the most peculiar case study, however. Having only coached youth national teams, and two smaller clubs in his home country, he was far from an established name and some even may have expressed their doubts when he took a break to lead Portugal U20 in the summer World Cup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Half a year later, Bahrain\nhave conquered two tournaments they\u2019d never won prior to 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Better yet, H\u00e9lio Sousa \u201csolved\u201d the Gulf Cup by averaging 11 line-up changes each matchday. That\u2019s right. Usually, going through an exhausting extra time in the semi-final would be a nuissance, a complication, but not so much for Bahrain, since a wholly different line-up had already been named to start the final a few days later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And here we were, thinking Saudi Arabia\u2019s depth is insane. Bahrain won this tournament with a goalkeeper wearing the captain\u2019s armband despite sitting the first two games out, how about that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE of 2013, powered by peaking tandem of Omar Abdulrahman and Ali Mabkhout, remain the last Gulf Cup champions who were legitimately scary from the get go, exploding out of the blocks with five goals in the first two games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That, in isolation, would hardly be a stunning finding \u2013 this was only the third edition since 2013, after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s more fun is when you realize how consistently odd \u2013 or oddly consistent \u2013 the Gulf Cup has lately been with slow starts of eventual champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the 22nd edition, Qatar stumbled out of the gate to three draws and wildly unimpressive progression fueled by a single goal from defender Ibrahim Majid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few years down the line, Oman looked determined to follow up on Qatar by also not bagging a single goal from open play in the group stages, only to prove unable to hold their horses in the Matchday 3 upset of Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2019, Bahrain remained goalless for two first games, only to suddenly deliver six blows over the next two games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is just weird. Just like it was weird (if understandable, given their Champions League exploits) to see Saudi Arabia line-up without a single Al Hilal player in their opening starting XI. And it\u2019s frankly no less weird to now acknowledge that this year\u2019s finalists combined for a single point in their opening showdowns at the tournament, something that\u2019d never happened before (only in 2009, both finalists didn\u2019t win initially).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Herv\u00e9 Renard may want to think about changing his famously stubborn ways; his token white shirt that made him the first coach to win Africa Cup of Nations with two different countries seems to be no longer working. <\/p>\n\n\n\n First, there were the impressive performances that translated into a mere point at 2018 FIFA World Cup. Then there was the disappointing Round of 16 exit at this year\u2019s AFCON, and now this. Against Benin, much like now against Bahrain, he was let down by his penalty taker and then some more bad luck, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, while he\u2019ll always have\nhis favourite shirt and his favourite individuals, he\u2019s no stubborn tactician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If his predecessor Juan\nAntonio Pizzi came in with a clear vision he was unwilling to drop even as it\nwas becoming painfully obvious the plan to build from the back doesn\u2019t fit the\npersonnel, Herv\u00e9 Renard is the polar opposite; a professional chameleon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Frenchman doesn\u2019t have his\npreferred formation, nothing like that \u2013 he seeks one wherever he goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s worth remembering that Renard won his first AFCON gold with a direct, counter-attacking Zambian outfit while deploying a purely defensive-minded central midfield in 4-4-2, then he enjoyed a brief period of success at Sochaux with a classic 4-2-3-1, and finally found the one fitting formation for underachieving C\u00f4te d’Ivoire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a peculiar 3-4-3, Yaya Tour\u00e9 played the deepest he\u2019s ever operated for the national team, which seemed counter-intuitive at the time, but it was designed to unleash the devastating wide players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It worked a treat, of course, and Saudi Arabia seem to be morphing into a similar monster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fawaz Al Qarni is installed in goal as he doesn\u2019t mind playing a longer ground pass to accelerate build-up down the middle. Abdullah Otayf is now the prototypical libero of the side, dropping deep to distribute smoothly to the flanks or, alternatively, free up the right centre back Mohammed Al Khabrani for a diagonal to the left-hand side. Salman Al Faraj is suddenly seen as the most advanced central midfielder, a roaming presence around the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It took some time, but Renard has seemingly figured out how he wants his team to set up and attack. The attacking can be done patiently as well as quickly, or both at the same time, to a devastating effect.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Helio-Sousa.jpg?resize=1024%2C485&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nNo need to start firing on all cylinders. Not even one, frankly<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Amid another heartbreak, Saudi Arabia find their face<\/h4>\n\n\n\n