Oman wins the 19th Gulf Cup, beating Saudi Arab in Penalty shoot-out of 6-5
Going into the stadium you could sense all the excitement around. To sum extend everyone was optimistic, that this is it. Oman will be the champions of the 19th Gulf Cup. Everyone wanted them to win, we were chanting "we want the cup, we want the cup". The players I'm sure shared the same determination, and finally their hard work guided them towards success.
Me, and my friends, like atleast 50,000 others (I guess), that we wanted to be a part of all this excitment and watch the match up close. Going into the packed stadium at 2, it was already filled to the brim. The crowd was filled with a mixture of red shirts and white disdashas. It was an amazing site. All this for the 11 players and the numerous others behind the scene. All of them had a lot on their shoulders and the good thing is they did it.
The Saudi's were in large numbers as well. Filling their dedicated stand and dancing all the way to the end. There was little green among the million reds!
The ground looked small from the top. This was the first time watching a football match live, and I loved every moment of it. One local guy asked me are you India, I replied with a "No a Bangladeshi". So then he goes on to ask me why I want Oman to win, and we go on talking using little English that he knew !
The first 90 minutes were good. But the Saudi said had a good defence. And nothing happened. The crowd reaction was awesome, booing at the Saudi's and cheering for the reds. "Ahmar, Ahmar, Ahmar" "Tash batash" (at the Saudi's).
The next 30 minutes were also not so great, but the excitement was rising. Penanlty is mostly about luck. "Habsiiii, Habsi". Yes it was up to the star of Oman, the one person people really believe in as the saviour of the team. Then the first 5 tries each side.
People were now standing and waiting ! Then Saudi team missed one and everyone was cheering like crazy and standing on their seat. And then came the win, and it was crazy. People were hugging anyone and everyone. "Mabrook" and "Elf Mabrook" was flowing throughout the stadium. Ahh.. Finally.
We waited till they made the victory lap with the cup. Then it was party time.
The dancing started from outside the stadium till shatti. It was a huge rush, but for us it was fun. It was something worth experiencing. For the people who frown at the traffic and curse, stop doing that and lets have some fun. These are not football holigans they are the supporters who want to celebrate ! It was fun "wallah" !!
Had an awesome experience and came home at 4. It took us 4 hours to reach obrah roundabout from Bowsher. 4 hours of fun and dancing and flag weaving ! Finally, better late then never yeah ?
Congrats to all the team members and everyone who made this happen, and worked hard to make this the number one team in the gulf, and inshallah very soon in the world !
