Branko Ivankovic to the Gulf Cup Union website: Everyone wants the cup, and I appreciate all the teams.

Participation in the Gulf Cup is very important, as it is the tournament closest to the hearts of the people of the Gulf.

We have 10 players competing in the tournament for the first time.

I don’t fear any team, but I respect them all.

Hours later, the twenty-fifth edition of the Arab Gulf Cup, which is hosted by the Iraqi city of Basra, begins, and the Gulf teams continue to flock to Basra to complete their final preparations for the tournament. The Omani team arrived on Monday, led by the Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic, and the Arab Gulf Cup Federation website hosted the Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic to talk about the tournament and the ambitions of the Omani team in the tournament.

First, we asked him: Does the Omani national team’s participation in the Gulf Cup come for the sake of the title or as a strong preparation for the Asian Cup? And he replied: “Participation in the Gulf Cup is very important, as it is the tournament closest to the hearts of the people of the Gulf and holds a special place for them.” The tournament is strong and will witness great competition. We will approach each match with the goal of winning, but the main goal is the Asian Cup, so I see the tournament as a good warm-up for the continental cup.The tournament takes on another importance as Basra hosts it after 40 years.

Regarding the Gulf teams, Ivankovic stated that all of them are strong, with Kuwait winning the most recent edition, Bahrain winning the previous edition, Saudi Arabia defeating Oman in the previous edition, and even Qatar, despite participating in the reserve team, and Yemen, whose difficulty lies in its ambiguity. I believe that the tournament will be strong, and it is a real test for the Omani national team.

When asked about the confusion that is taking place in the Omani street about the choices of players and the exclusion of important names, he replied, “This is football, and the question is always repeated before any tournament: why did this player join and exclude that?” We have had Khaled Al-Hajri injured for a long time, and Mohsen Al-Ghassani in the recent period was not essential. At his club, I wanted to give new faces a chance while always looking for the best offensive line solutions.
Regarding the short preparation for the tournament in the Dubai camp, which included only two matches against the Syrian national team, which was not satisfactory to the Omani public who aspired to the Gulf title, he replied: “The camp is not in the days of FIFA, as we started preparing after the end of the World Cup, as there are no activities for the international teams, Syria.” Kuwait and Lebanon were the only ones that were able to confront us, and even the clubs we did not have the opportunity to provide them because the leagues returned immediately after the end of the World Cup, and it is not easy to obtain a strong opponent. The Germany match was an exceptional case. We will try next May and June to go to Europe to face strong teams, and this is difficult because of the European Nations League. Most of the teams will not be free, especially the European ones, because we need to make contact with stronger teams.

Regarding the impact of the atmosphere in Basra, which is different from that in Oman, on the players, he said: “The players are fully prepared and proud to represent their country in this precious tournament.”
We have 10 players in the tournament for the first time, and it’s a strong competition to gain experience.

When asked about the team that he fears during the tournament, he replied: “I do not fear any team, but I respect them all.” Host Iraq appeared in front of Kuwait in the friendly match in a distinguished way.
A team that is driven to attack, especially in that perfect atmosphere and with the stadium full of fans, will try to win with all their might, but despite that, I am not worried. We came to enjoy the tournament and give our best.

And when asked about the participation of Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the second row, and whether this matter increases Oman’s chances of achieving the championship, He stressed: “In the last edition of the Gulf Cup, the reserve team of Saudi Arabia defeated the Omani team.” With the aim of winning, and this is also the ambition of every team, Bahrain, the defending champion, will try to preserve its title; the UAE has been away from titles for a long time and will try with all its might to win the cup; host Iraq will also try to win the version it is organizing; and Kuwait will also try to restore the glories of Kuwaiti football; but I only think about my team and what it can achieve, and I wish success to everyone, just as I wish success to Iraq in organizing.