Al Manama is a club side
from the capital of Bahrain. They were promoted to the
top level last season. Although they have yet to win a
national title, they have been important players in the
Bahraini football establishment.
Initial Years
From the inception of
the Bahrain league in 1957 till the start of 90s, Manama
did not make an important impact on the national stage.
While rivals Al Ahli were winning three national titles,
Manama were struggling to maintain their status among
the elite.
The Last Decade
In 1994/95 season, the
top level consisted of 10 sides and unfortunately for
Manama, they propped up the table meaning relegation to
the second level. Their extremely poor displays led to
only 2 wins in 18 games and finishing with single digits
in the points table. They didnt make an immediate comeback.
Things didnt improve in the Amir Cup. In 1996/97, they
were kicked out of the Cup 1st round by Budaia. Next season,
they suffered even more humiliation at the hands of West
Riffa, losing 7-0 in the first round. They did manage
to beat fellow lower level opponents Al Arabi and Qalali
in the preliminaries before losing to West Riffa again
in 98/99 Amir Cup. In the final season of the decade,
they lost to Setra on penalties in the first round. In
the FA cup too, they finished near the bottom of their
first round group. Things were looking bleak for this
feeble outfit from the capital.
New Millenium
The turn of the century
did not bring any good news. They failed to gain promotion
and went out of the Crown Prince Cup before the quarters.
2002 saw the league structure in Bahrain totally revamped.
Top level was expanded to 18 clubs from the previous 12.
But that still did not save Manama from utter humiliation
and misery as the club performed dismally to finish rock
bottom of the standings. In fact they managed to take
only a meagre 6 points from 17 games and tellingly only
won one game all season, against Sahel. The end of the
season could not come any sooner. In their last games,
results went from bad to worse and in the penultimate
game, they lost 6-0 to East Riffa. Worse was to follow
as Manama bowed out of the top level with a morale sapping
12-0 drubbing at the hands of the other Riffa side, West.
They compounded a horror season by withdrawing from the
King's Cup.
Resurgence
Having hit rock bottom,
Manama vowed to better their fortunes and subsequently
mounted a valiant, yet failed attempt at immediate promotion.
Local rivals Al Najma prevented them in a high scoring
playoff. They did finish in their now customary last place
in the FA Cup first round.
Promotion
Last season saw Manama
finally reward the patience of their long suffering fans
by clinching automatic promotion. And they did it in style
by winning all but one of their 14 games. They also reached
the quarterfinals of the FA Cup where they lost by the
odd goal in three to Al Shabab. Manama finally had something
to shout about.
Current Season
It was always going to
be a season of struggle and consolidation. Having failed
to keep their place each time they were promoted in the
past, the omens were against them from the start. And
they have struggled, taking just 7 points from a maximum
30 on offer so far. They currently occupy the relegation
playoff spot above a pathetic Al Hala. They did start
out promisingly beating Bahrain in their opener. Things
have not looked good after that. Even worse was their
Cup performance, finishing bottom of their first round
group to leave their fans venting their frustration.
Prospects
With local rivals Al
Ahli and Al Najma establishing themselves as top level
sides, Manama have their work cut out for them to try
to catch them. Their talent for the time being seems more
suited to second level football rather than the top tier.
Until they can become consistent enough, they will continue
to struggle both in the league and the domestic cup competitions.
