The buzz around the Asian Champions League Round of 16 clash between the two biggest teams of Qatar is no doubt about one of football’s most recognized names and his foray into coaching.
Xavi Hernandez took over the top job at Al Sadd after the resignation of Jesualdo Ferreira last season.
The Spaniard who mesmerized fans while playing for Barcelona and the Spanish national team faces a new challenge – a test the midfield maestro says he’s ready to take on.
“I am happy to be here as a coach. It is a big opportunity for me and I am thankful to the club for their trust and I am especially happy to coach these players.
“We are ready and training hard, we have a tough game against one of the best teams in the Middle East.
“We respect them but we remember the Amir Cup final (Al Sadd lost 4-1) against them last May. Maybe this is a chance to get revenge on them. It’s exciting for me to start like this as a coach in my career,” Xavi said at a press conference on Monday.
The Spaniard takes charge of a group of players who have superb chemistry and have scored 100 goals in the QNB Stars League last season. But after four fruitful years as a player with Al Sadd, one trophy remains absent from the midfielder’s trophy cabinet and he aims to claim it as coach.
“I won everything as a player except the ACL and we can do it now. We came close against Persepolis last year in the semi-final but we didn’t win. Football gives you opportunities and we have one now to do better.
“Our idea is to attack and play on the front foot, but the objective is not only to score goals but win important matches. Sure if we score many goals we have the best chance of winning something, so our goal is to win everything again,” the former World Cup winner said.
Al Sadd had a training camp in Spain over the summer but some of the team’s core players had a busy June/July with the Copa America and the African Cup of Nations. In response to questions about the team’s fitness going into the season, Xavi said, “We are ready! Sure many players were busy in the summer but the players have the experience to compete. It’s better for me that they have played a lot of football, it gives them more knowledge. I’m just three weeks into the job, so I am okay. I trust my players, let’s see what happens tomorrow.”
Both Al Sadd and Al Duhail will see a lot of each other in the next 14 days both in Asia and the season-opening Sheikh Jassim Cup. Xavi who himself was once involved in back-to-back Spanish Clasico said, “I’m okay with that. In Barcelona we played against Real Madrid like this so we are okay. I’m a positive guy, we can lose and we can win. In football, you never know.
“It will be tough for us against Duhail who aren’t big alone in Qatar but also in the region and in Asia. But come on, we are positive.”
By Ayeni Olusegun
