Coach Xavi Hernandez will return to Al Sadd dug out after missing his team’s previous QNB Stars League (QSL) round match due to COVID-19, hoping to guide his ranks to victory over Al Ahli today.
Xavi contracted coronavirus which he announced last Saturday, witnessing his team defeating Al Khor in Round 18 while in quarantine. He joined Al Sadd’s training session on Wednesday and is feeling ‘perfect’ as Al Sadd take on Al Ahli in Round 19 at Al Janoub Stadium.
“Yes, thanks to God, I did not feel anything with the virus during the last two weeks that I spent in the hotel, in quarantine. I feel 100% now, I feel perfect and I’m very happy to return to training normally and I am also very happy to return to normal life with the family at home,” said Xavi at a pre-match press conference.
“I am very happy and excited to return to the bench and thankfully, we had a really good game against Al Khor, after 3-4 months without competing,” he added. Al Sadd who are third in the points standings with 35 points – eight points behind leaders Al Duhail – have an outside chance to claim top spot as the league nears conclusion. The Barcelona legend said his team was just focusing on winning the remaining matches.
“We will play against Al Ahli and hopefully we can win again. We still have 4 finals; of course, it’s really difficult to win this league because we can’t depend on just ourselves but until the end, we will compete. This is Al Sadd, we are winners and we will compete until the last minute in these four finals,” said Xavi.
“We have to win. Of course, we are favourites, but we have to show our strength on the pitch as well. We have been training well and I am very happy with the performance of the players in training and also in the last game,” he added. Al Sadd player Hossam Kamal said: “We are ready for the next game against Al Ahli. It will be difficult, our victory against Al Khor is a motivation for us to provide a better level against a strong opponent. I hope that we will show a good level in this match and the upcoming matches because our target is to win all of them.
“We faced some difficulties in the Al Khor match and that was the first after the break. We could have ended up losing the three points, but the players’ desire to win prevailed and we have to work hard in the coming period to reach the best level.” Meanwhile, Al Ahli coach N e b o j s a Jovovic said his team will look to bounce back setback against Al Shahania. “I will not look for excuses in the upcoming games. We know our team’s problems during the match against Al Shahania. The players must take advantage of the Al Sadd match and provide their best,” said Jovovic.
“Al Sadd are a strong team and have distinguished players who represent the national team. We respect them a lot, but that does not mean we will be pushovers. "Our aim to achieve a positive result. After the Al Shahania match, there was no choice but to work to correct mistakes. We have a good group of players and I have big confidence in them and their abilities in order to achieve the required result,” he added.
