Al Sadd’s coach Xavi Haernandez giving instructions to his players during a training session in Doha, ahead of their FIFA Club World Cup’s opening match against Hienghene Sport which will be played at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium today.
Coach Xavi Hernadez says Al Sadd is a ‘right mix of experience and youth’ as the Doha giants prepare for the FIFA Club World Cup opener against Hienghene Sport today.
Xavi, who played for Al Sadd for two seasons following a long career with Barcelona, took over the coach at the start of the on-going 2019-20 football season in Qatar.
“Al Sadd is a team with just the right mix of experience and youth. We’ve got the best ever generation of Qatari players the team’s ever had and we have eight or ten national team players with a lot of talent,” Xavi said in an interview ahead of the biggest club event to be held on Qatari soil.
“(There is) Akram Afif, Saad Al Sheeb the goalkeeper, Hassan Al Haydos, who’s the national team captain, Tarek Salman, Boualem Khoukhi, and Salem,” Xavi said in the interview posted on fifa.com website.
“There are a lot of excellent young players. And then we have the experience of Gabi, the team captain. We have two good Korean internationals, and Baghdad Bounedjah was the player of the tournament at the Africa Cup of Nations and scored the winner in the final.
“We have a team that can play good football,” Xavi warned.
“It’s all going to come down to what happens on the day and our mindset, which I think will be just right. We’re going to compete, though,” the former Spain international added.
Xavi said the players welcome the idea of playing on the home soil though he has urged his players not to take pressure.
“What we’ll try to do is make sure the players don’t feel the extra pressure that comes with playing at home, which happens a lot – that pressure of having to prove yourself,” Xavi, 38, said.
“Pressure is something for me to deal with as the coach. We’ve looked at Hienghene and we understand that we’re the favourites. In football, though, you have to go out and do it on the pitch. What I won’t take from my teams is a lack of effort.
“I want them to try. They might fail 200 times, but I want them to try,” Xavi said.
Xavi has welcomed back Afif, the 2019 Asian Player of the Year, Al Haydos, Al Sheeb, Khoukhi - who were on national duty at the Gulf Cup - to join international stars Bounedjah, a feared striker from Algeria, Gabi the Atletico Madrid giant, and Korean national team player Nam Tae-hee for the seven-team tournament.
Al Sadd last played the tournament in 2011 when they won the AFC Champions League under coach Jorge Fossati.
“This is a special prize for us. What I’ll try to say to the team is that they forget about the pressure and show what they can do,” Xavi said ahead of his team’s first match at Jassin Bin Hamad Stadium today.
Also yesterday, Al Sadd midfielder Salem Al Hajri said his team considers the FIFA Club World Cup as ‘a new challenge and an opportunity to show the Wolves’ strength against the best international teams’.
Al Hajri said: “We know very well the value of this tournament, which is a goal for everyone. We look forward to bringing happiness to our loyal fans.”
He added: “An important match awaits us against the Oceanian champions Hienghene Sport. Each team has the same chances to reach the second round, which will be our first goal.”
