Game of emotions: Al Sadd, Al Arabi eye Amir Cup glory

Doha: Winning the revered Amir Cup is more than just lifting a trophy as clinching the country’s most coveted football title is a matter of pride for all Qatari clubs. 

However, there will no respite for players, coaches and die-hard fans when Al Sadd take on Al Arabi in the title clash.    

Today’s final – being played on Qatar National Day - holds more historic value as it will mark the inauguration of Al Rayyan Venue, the fourth FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 stadium to be declared ready with two years left in the showpiece. 

The atmosphere at the state-of-the-art venue will be electric as 50 percent of the stadium’s 40,000 capacity will be filled with fans under strict health protocols to control the spread of coronavirus.              

The title-deciding match, gives a chance to 16-time champions Al Sadd – the most successful side in Amir Cup history – to extend their record, while for Al Arabi it is a golden opportunity to end a long title drought.

Having won their last title in 1993,  the Dream Team, which defeated Al Markhiya 2-0 in the semi-final last month, reached the Amir Cup final after 26 years. Al Sadd, who won their last title in 2017, suffered a 4-1 defeat against Al Duhail in last year’s final. 

Currently, Al Sadd - coached by Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez – are in supreme form leading the QNB Stars League with 8 wins and a draw. The Wolves are the only unbeaten side this season, enjoying a goal-scoring spree with 35 goals from 9 matches.

But Xavi said his team will in no way enter the Al Rayyan Venue as favourites. 

“We are in a great form and I expect my team to perform well. Everyone thinks that we are the favourites but this is not true,” the Al Sadd coach said at a pre-final press conference yesterday, adding Al Arabi pose a tough challenge for his side.   

“For many years, they (Al Arabi) have not won a title and they will have that extra motivation to do well in the final. So if anyone thinks that Al Sadd will win the title easily, they don’t understand football. They’ll be ready to find and put all hurdles in our path,” said Xavi.  

“It’ll be a difficult and a complicated game. It’s the final and the tension of the final can be very different. It’s a historic game for them, and also for us. They’ll be ready to find and put all hurdles in our path.”

The retired Spain star said his team will do all to make the fans happy. 

“We are proud to be here and compete, and we will see if we are able to continue to play like that. We are excited to win for the sake of the fans. It will be a different match to the league. The positions in the league will not mean for anything tomorrow,” he said.

Xavi added he is facing selection dilemma ahead of the final as all his players are in good form .   

“You can only choose eleven players and it’s really difficult to pick the team as everybody is training well and playing well. I will feel bad for the players who will miss out tomorrow’s game because everyone deserves to play this match,” he said. 

Al Arabi ready to challenge Al Sadd

Meanwhile, Al Arabi coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said his team will play the ‘game of emotions’ with a fearless approach.  

“We know that the match is of great importance more than any other match. We have tried to make our preparations normal for this final and not to put the players under pressure,” Hallgrimsson said yesterday.  

“We must go into the final believing that we will win. I think that we must play to win. We believe in our ability to win and we have a plan for it and, hopefully it will succeed,” he added. 

Hallgrimsson said he has many choices for the starting XI as mostly all his players are fit ahead of the all-important game.   

“For the first time this season, we have nearly all players available for the match except for the injured Khalifa Al Maliki. This is what makes us optimistic more than ever,” the coach added. 
Hallgrimsson said the head-to-head record that favours Al Sadd will not mean much.  

“In the matches we played against Al Sadd, they had more possession and high winning percentage. In any case there are always opportunities in football,” he said. 

Arrangements for final completed 

The Amir Cup organising committee said that preparations are complete for the Amir Cup final. 

Head of marketing at the committee Khalid Al Kuwari said that almost all tickets of 50% stadium capacity were sold. He said that ensuring all fans in the stadium had carried out a COVID-19 test did not affect the sales process. 

Head of the facility at the committee, Hassan Al Kuwari, said that holding the final and inaugurating the fourth stadium of 2022 FIFA World Cup sends a message to the World that Qatar will be ready to host the worlds biggest footballing event two years from now.

“Qatar is doing a good job in order to host the 2022 World Cup. It (Al Rayyan Venue) is an amazing stadium and we’re looking forward to playing here. The presence of fans shows that Qatar has done well to control the COVID situation. It’s an additional motivation for us to play in front of the fans,” Xavi said yesterday. 

Hallgrimsson said: “The match is important and we are proud of being among the first teams to play at Al Rayyan Stadium.”

Al Rayyan Venue’s inauguration follows the successful launch of Khalifa International, Al Janoub and Education City.

Gates will open three hours before the match, and all health precautions will be strictly followed. 

Al Athba to officiate final 

Meanwhile, the Qatar Football Association (QFA) yesterday named referee Saud Al Athba to officiate the Amir Cup final. Al Athba’s first assistant will Zahi Al Shammari while Majid Haiders will be the Second assistant. Hadi Rwaili will be the fourth referee.

VAR will also be used during the final, the QFA said yesterday.