19th Arabian Gulf Cup
The 19th Arabian Gulf Cup (Arabic: كأس الخليج العربي) was the nineteenth edition of the biannual Gulf Cup competition. It took place in Muscat, Oman, from 4 to 17 January 2009, with Omanemerging as the winner for the first time in its history, following a penalty shootout against regional rivals Saudi Arabia.
| 'الخلیج العربي Kass Al-Khaleej Al-Arabi, or Khaleeji 19 | |
|---|---|
 19th Arabian Gulf Cup official logo | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Oman |
| Dates | 4–17 January |
| Teams | 8 |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Oman (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Saudi Arabia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Goals scored | 31 (2.07 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Hassan Rabia (4 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Majed Al-Marshedi |
| Best goalkeeper | Ali Al-Habsi |
The 19th Arabian Gulf Cup marked a milestone in the competition when it was broadcast for the first time in HD, and featured virtual graphics, such as distance between free kick barrier and the goal, 9.15 m circle for free-kicks, and off-side line detection with help from Al-Jazeera Sports. Many praised Al-Jazeera for their excellent coverage of the competition, noting that the camerawork was very similar to UEFA Euro 2008.
The postponing of the competition
The 19th Arabian Gulf Cup was originally planned out to be held in 2008, but due to Cyclone Gonu damaging Muscat six months before the planned time of the event, it was then postponed to early 2009.
Teams
8 teams participated in the tournament.
- Oman (Host)
- United Arab Emirates (Holder)
- Bahrain
- Iraq
- Kuwait
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Yemen
The Draw
- The draw was held in Oman on 29 October 2008.
- Eight teams were divided into two groups, Oman (The host nation) was in group A, The UAE (The holder) in group B, while the rest of the teams were placed in a pot based in October 2008's FIFA ranking.
- Oman played the opening match at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
Seedings
Pot | National Team | FIFA Ranking |
| A | Oman (Host) | 96 |
| United Arab Emirates (Holder) | 110 | |
| B | Saudi Arabia | 48 |
| Bahrain | 80 | |
| C | Iraq | 72 |
| Qatar | 84 | |
| D | Kuwait | 127 |
| Yemen | 145 |
Venues
| Muscat | Muscat |
|---|---|
| Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex | Royal Oman Police Stadium |
| Capacity: 39,000 | Capacity: 15,000 |
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Squads
Matches
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oman | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 7 |
| Kuwait | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 |
| Bahrain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 |
| Iraq | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 1 |
| Oman | 2–0 | Bahrain |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Maimani 14' Bashir 71' |
| Iraq | 1–1 | Kuwait |
|---|---|---|
| Abdul-Zahra 66' | Khalaf 37' |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 | 7 |
| Qatar | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 |
| United Arab Emirates | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 |
| Yemen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 0 |
| United Arab Emirates | 3–1 | Yemen |
|---|---|---|
| M. Omar 6' (pen.) Al-Hammadi 14' Al-Shehhi 67' | Al-Nono 90+1' |
| Saudi Arabia | 6–0 | Yemen |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Qahtani 4' Mouath 11', 83' Shuhail 18' Otaif 19' Al-Mousa 36' |
| United Arab Emirates | 0–3 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Qahtani 58' Al-Zori 70' Al-Fraidi 72' |
Semi finals
Final
Winners
| 19th Arabian Gulf Cup winners |
|---|
| Oman First title |
Goalscorers
Team statistics
This table shows all team performance.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final phase | |||||||||
| 1 | Oman | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | |
| 3 | Kuwait | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Qatar | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Eliminated in the group stage | |||||||||
| 5 | United Arab Emirates | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | –1 | |
| 6 | Bahrain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | –1 | |
| 7 | Iraq | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | –6 | |
| 8 | Yemen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | –9 | |
Total goals by team
Trivia
- FIFA president Sepp Blatter came to Oman for the second time, and attended the Oman/Qatar, and the Saudi Arabia/Kuwait games.
- UEFA president, and French football legend, Michel Platini attended the Oman/Kuwait, and the Bahrain/Iraq games, both in the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
- Singer Mohammed Abdo attended the final match between Oman and his native, Saudi Arabia.
- The Tournament took place during the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, also known as the Gaza War, as a sign of solidarity toward the Palestinians, many fans waved pro-Palestinian banners and chanted pro-Palestinian slogans. Omani footballer Badr Al-Maimani also revealed a pro-Gaza undershirt after his free-kick goal against Bahrain. Also before the opening match played by Yemen, players wore shirts representing solidarity with Palestine. The Kuwaiti team also did the same in their opening match against Oman, but instead wore scarves.