Xavi set for Al Duhail test in ACL

Traditional rivals Al Sadd and Al Duhail will go head-to-head will kick off the new season when they meet in the 2019 AFC Champions League (ACL) Round of 16 first leg  today.

The match will kickoff at the newly opened Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah at 7.00pm.

Last season, Barcelona’s Spanish legend Xavi Hernandez led the Wolves to QNB stars League (QSL) title after a thrilling race against Rui Faria-coached Al Duhail. But today he will be in differing shoes, stepping in as head coach for the first time at the competitive level.

Xavi’s Al Sadd sealed the QSL title with a seven-point margin over runners-up Al Duhail, while the latter stormed to a 4-1 victory over their rivals to lift the Amir Cup trophy.

“We are ready for the match,” Xavi said during a press conference  which took place in Al Wakrah yesterday.

Al Sadd players take part in their final training session ahead of today’s Round of 16 clash against Al Duhail.

“We have got international players at the highest level and have experience. I am happy with the level of Qatari internationals who play with us, after watching them during the Copa America. I have a new philosophy and I think the players are ready to implement this philosophy on the pitch,” Xavi said.

“We have great challenges ahead as Al Duhail is a strong team. We respect them a lot and as they are very talented. We remember the Amir Cup final on this stadium and we are aware of their capabilities. We are all ready for the start,” Xavi added.

Meanwhile, his counterpart, Rui Faria said: “Our ambitions are big and this is our first match this season and our preparations began from the 1st of July despite that many players were absent for joinning the national teams which also happened with Al Sadd , and it will be an important and special narcg and we will face one of the strongest teams in Qatar and Asia and now Al Sadd have a new coach,”

“Changing of Al Sadd coach is a change of football philosophy and mind, and in Al Duhail we not focus on the coach or player but we know that Al Sadd is a strong team that needs time to adapt to the new thinking of coach Xavi who needs time to put his mark in the team , and there is also changes for us where we brought special players like Youssef Msakni and the striker Mohand Ali and this season is different from the last and our goal is the harmony between the players so that they can implement the new football thoughts,” he said.

Al Duhail skipper Youssef Msakni and team-mates taking part in a training session at the Al Janoub Stadium yesterday, on the eve of their AFC Champions League Round of 16 clash against
Al Sadd.

Both sides had reached the 2018 ACL knock-out stages, before being eliminated by eventual finalists Persepolis, who defeated Al Duhail in the quarter-finals and Al Sadd in the semi-finals.

Faria’s men made two major changes to their squad over the summer; Youssef El Arabi and Shoya Nakajima, who between them scored five of the team’s 11 goals in the group stage, moved to Europe. Skipper Msekni returned after a short loan spell at KAS Eupen, while Iraqi prodigy Mohanad Ali arrived from Al Shorta.

For Al Sadd, this will be their sixth knock-out stage appearance, more than any other Qatari side. They were the last West Asian side to lift the ACL trophy back in 2011. Since then, they have reached the Round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals once each.