The Peninsula
Coach of Oman team Irwin Koeman and defender Ali Al Busaidi along with other members of the global football fraternity yesterday paid tributes to Pim Verbeek, who guided Oman to the last Arabian Gulf Cup title.
The Dutchman, who coached Australia at the 2010 World Cup and also saw success with South Korea, died from cancer at the age of 63 on Thursday.
“My sincere condolences and sympathy to the family of the late Pim Verbeek, who died yesterday, we canceled all the events that were scheduled for the team after we heard that news,” said Koeman.
Koeman took over from Verbeek after Verbeek stepped as Oman coach, which in after incidentally was Verbeek’s last assignment as a football coach.
“We will try to win the match against Kuwait. There are no excuses in football and we will prepare well with the circumstances. We know how strong Kuwait is and what it did to Saudi Arabia and they deserve respect.
Meanwhile, Busaidi sent his message to the Omani fans asking them to stand behind the team in the match against Kuwait. “We extend our sincere condolences and condolences to the departure of former coach
Verbeek and we want to win this match and dedicate the win to him. He was a father to us,” said Busaidi.