BAHRAIN champions Muharraq will complete their preparations today for their opening clash with Turkmenistan's MTTU in the 2007 AFC Soccer Cup Group 'B' match scheduled for tomorrow at 6.30pm at the National Stadium in Riffa. It will be another serious challenge for Bahrain's first division league leaders who finished runners-up in last year's edition of the cup after losing dramatically 5-4 in the final leg playoff to Al Faisaly of Jordan. The other two Group B squads, Al Helal Hodedah of Yemen and Al Wihdat of Jordan, also play their opening matches the same day.
Muharraq's second game will be against the Jordanians on March 20, followed by their match with Al Helal on April 10.
Muharraq face Al Helal again on the 24th of the same month for their fourth group tie, while their final two matches have been scheduled for May 8 and 22 against FC MTTU and Al Wihdat respectively.
Muharraq are the top seed in Group B, with Al Wihdat second, Al Helal third and MTTU ranked fourth.
Training
Muharraq had a training session last night at the club's stadium in Arad under their coach and former star striker Salman Shereeda who took over the team from another stalwart Khalifa Al Zayani last month.
"Our preparations have so far been going according to what I have planned and I am happy with the players' discipline. They are so excited to compete in this tournament again and I am personally confident that they will do well on Tuesday," said Shereeda after yesterday's session.
Shereeda was approached by the club after the team's poor start in the league, losing 6-3 to newcomers Al Hala and drawing their next two matches against Al Shabab and East Riffa.
"Tomorrow will be our last training and we are really looking forward to win this match, which will be the key to our success in the tournament," said Shereeda.
The 52-year-old coach took over the reins of Muharraq after he completed his commitments as a coach of Pakistan's national soccer team.
"We are thankful for the visit made by club president Shaikh Ahmed bin Ali Al Khalifa to extend his support to the players. He is truly their spiritual father," added Shereeda.
Meanwhile, the visitors are expected to arrive in Bahrain today and will have their training tonight at the National Stadium.
The technical meeting is scheduled for today at 6.30pm at the Bahrain Football Association premises in Riffa to be attended by representatives of both teams who will confirm their line-ups, jersey colours and other technical issues.
The meeting will be attended by match commissioner Abdulghafoor Abdulhamid of Maldives and referee Abdulrahman Sisho of Syria, linesmen Hamdi Al Shaikh and Shaker Al Hamidi, both of Syria, and fourth referee Khalid Khalifa of the UAE.
This tournament consists of two stages with 24 teams from across the continent in the fray.
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