Khaldiya, East Riffa aiming for King’s Cup glory

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Al Khaldiya and East Riffa will be looking to make Bahraini football history tonight when they face off for the title in this year’s His Majesty the King’s Cup football tournament.

The competition is the richest in Bahrain football, offering $200,000 in prize money to the champions and $80,000 for the runners-up. The match is scheduled for a 6.15pm kick-off at the National Stadium in Riffa.

Khaldiya will be hoping to claim their first-ever King’s Cup crown, which will also be their first major title at the top level of local football. Speaking ahead of the match, Khaldiya’s Croatian head coach Dragan Talajic said: “I am really happy because we are in the final game of the King’s Cup. “It will be a strong game, and we know that finals are always 50-50.

“We respect East Riffa as a good club with a big history, but we will prepare our way and inshaallah we will play nice football and the game will be nice for the people.” Khaldiya have a formidable side with a number of Bahrain’s top international footballers on their roster, including captain Ismaeel Abdullatif, Mahdi Humaidan, Sayed Dhiya Saeed and goalkeeper Sayed Shubar Alawi, to name a few.

Khaldiya booked their tickets to the title game after defeating Al Najma 2-0 in their semi-final encounter. Meanwhile, East Riffa head coach Florin Motroc from Romania also expressed his delight in reaching the final, which he said has come with a lot of hard work over the past two seasons.

Motroc also praised the Khaldiya team. He said that both sides have distinguished players and stressed that each of the two clubs have an equal chance of claiming this year’s title. East Riffa are to be led by the likes of skipper Faisal Budahoom and Sami Al Hossaini, as well as Nigerian Prince Obus Aggreh, Brazilian Luiz Fernando Correa Sales and Angolan Aguinaldo Policarpo.

They made it to the final after overcoming back-to-back King’s Cup defending champions Riffa 2-0 in the last four.