Fast forward two years, and it would be the season of their lives.

Muharraq had a clean sweep of titles in 2008; the Bahrain Pro League, the King’s Cup, Crown Prince’s Cup and last but not least, the 2008 AFC Cup, which by far was the most important of the bunch, because it was the first not only in their history, but in Bahraini football history too.

Drawn in Group A alongside India’s Dempo SC, Lebanon’s Al Ansar and Oman’s Sur SC, Muharraq navigated the group with relative ease, winning four, drawing one and losing one. One man stood out though: Leandson Dias da Silva - better known as ‘Rico’ (pictured above, centre). 

The former Sao Paulo and Gremio striker announced himself to Asian football with a remarkable group stage campaign that saw him score an astonishing nine goals, of which four came against Dempo SC in Goa. The Brazilian would go on to rack up a whopping 19 goals in the competition that season, 10 more than the second highest scorer. He would also end up scoring two hat-tricks in the final.

Salman Sharida’s men then dispatched Malaysia’s Kedah Darul Aman in the quarter-finals, winning home and away by an aggregate score of 7-1. Next up was Oman’s Al Nahda, who beat the eventual champions 1-0 in Bahrain before losing 2-1 in the reverse leg courtesy of goals from Rico, and Mahmood Abdulrahman, who would finish the tournament with the MVP accolade to go along with his winners’ medal. The Bahraini side went through to the final on aggregate on away goals.

Then came one of the highest-scoring finals in Asian football history; a final that saw a total of 15 goals scored across both legs between Muharraq, and fellow first-time finalists Al Safa, from Lebanon.

Muharraq rolled over their opponents in Manama, winning 5-1, with Al Safa’s goal coming at the end and though ultimately it was a consolation, they built on it in the second leg. Muharraq, on the other hand, looked like they were done with the tie.

Determined not to go down without a fight, Al Safa fought tooth and nail in the second leg which still saw Muharraq score five goals, but Al Safa put up a fight to ensure the final happened to be one of the most dramatic to date: a 5-4 scoreline, including a hat-trick, and an Abdulrahman finish that settled things in the 82nd minute to ensure they made up for the title lost two years earlier.

In 2021, Muharraq have a chance to win their second AFC Cup title when they face Uzbekistan’s FC Nasaf. 

Having beaten two former champions to reach the final, including reigning champions Al Ahed, Muharraq might just start believing this could be their year.