Football giants Al Rayyan will be looking to go one better than last season. The eight-time champions launch the new Qatar Stars League (QSL) season with a clash against Umm Salal on Friday.
New Al Rayyan coach Poya Asbaghi on Thursday assured club fans the team would be aiming for title glories.
Last season Al Rayyan finished second behind champions Al Sadd in the QSL standings.
Their last title glory came in the 2014-15 season.
In an astonishing run of play, Al Rayyan sealed the QSL title honours with five rounds to spare in the 2015-16 season. It was Al Rayyan’s first title win since the 1994-95 season.
“The challenge of coaching Al Rayyan is exciting as it is the biggest team in Qatar and I believe that Al Rayyan’s goal is to develop further, and this season we have to compete for titles,” Asbaghi said on Thursday during a pre-match news conference.
“I am happy to be here and the team needs to work hard and develop constantly, and the important thing for us is to always be better, so if we do this we can achieve our goals,” he added.
Asbaghi, who has been roped in by Al Rayyan for just one season, said the club had conducted a solid pre-season training camp.
“We are coming from a good preparation for the season during which we played many friendly matches, so it will be a special event to meet the fans in our first match and we will be happy about that,” Asbaghi said. “The Umm Salal team we saw last season made it difficult for any competitor. They are a good team in defence and dangerous in counterattacks, so it will be a difficult start for us. We have prepared well for the season and we feel that we are ready for this challenge,” he added.
“Our team ranks are almost complete and we have a good list of players before facing Umm Salal,” said Asbaghi.
Al Rayyan’s Brazilian forward Roger Guedes said Umm Salal took the wind out of their sails in the championship title bid last year.
“We know that Umm Salal are a tough team defensively and we played against them last season, and that was one of the reasons for our loss in the league. So we know that it is a difficult match and we will be ready to get the three points,” Guedes said on Thursday.
“Last season, we performed very well, the team was new and the foreign players were new, and we finished the league in second place, and I was competing for the top scorer title, and my goal this season is to get the top scorer title and win the league.
“We will do everything to please the great fans of Al Rayyan and we will work to achieve the three points in the first match, and we are waiting for them,” he added.
Umm Salal coach Patrice Carteron on Thursday admitted Al Rayyan would be a tough test in the opening clash.
“We are waiting for a difficult match against a strong team that should not be underestimated and includes players with good capabilities and a very good coach. So it will be a strong and difficult match, but last season we were able at some point to achieve a very good result against a big team,” Carteron said.
“We are looking forward to presenting a strong and good match and a positive result as well. We will do our best to achieve victory, and we realise that the match will be difficult against a strong team, so it is necessary for us to fight to achieve our goal, which is to win.
“Let us hope that this season we have the same quality to achieve that. Of course, we have a lot of respect for the competitor and we know that Al Rayyan are bigger than us, but in football nothing is guaranteed, we will do our best to get the best possible result,” Carteron added.
Umm Salal player Antonio Mansi said: “I am very happy to play for The Orange Fortress and even happier with the welcome and celebration I received from everyone. I hope to do the best and make the club’s fans happy.”
He added: “The Netherlands camp was positive and we had good and strong training and I was happy with the camp and the spirit that prevailed in it..”
The match will be played at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, the home venue of Al Rayyan.
FIXTURES
09/08/24 6:30: Al Rayyan vs Umm Salal at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
09/08/24 8:30: Al Khor vs Al Gharafa at Al Bayt Stadium
10/08/24 6:30: Qatar SC vs Al Duhail at Khalifa Stadium
10/08/24 8:30: Al Shamal Vs Al Sadd at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
11/08/24 6:30: Al Wakrah Vs Al Ahli at Al Janoub Stadium
11/08/24 8:30: Al Shahania Vs Al Arabi at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium
