Saddam, Mehmood hope to make second chance at history count

KARACHI: They were part of the first team from Pakistan that made the final of the AFC President’s Cup and now midfielders Saddam Hussain and Mehmood Khan are hoping to help K-Electric become the first team from the country to reach the AFC Cup.

In 2013, Saddam and Mehmood were at each end of Khan Research Laboratories’ (KRL) midfield pivot as they created history by reaching the final of the AFC President’s Cup, which was then the continent’s third-tier club competition.

The duo had helped KRL hold Balkan FK for 87 minutes until the Turkmens struck, denying them a chance to become the first side from Pakistan to win an Asian competition.

“That hurt because we were so close,” Saddam told Dawn on Tuesday, a day after finalising his move to K-Electric.

They did create some history — “an unwanted one”, as Mehmood says — by becoming the first side from the country to reach the final of a continental tournament.

“No one remembers the runners-ups ... it’s always the winners who are remembered,” Mehmood told Dawn on Tuesday.

In an odd twist of fate, though, the first competitive match Mehmood and Saddam play for their new side K-Electric, they will get a chance to atone for that Asian heartbreak with KRL.

“It will definitely give us an opportunity to exorcise those demons of being so close yet being so far,” the duo said at the send-off ceremony for the K-Electric team for their AFC Cup playoff against Bahrain’s Al Hidd on Feb 9.

For more detail  Saddam, Mehmood hope to make second chance at history count

• Tweet
• Share
• Share
• Share
• Share