DOHA: Coach Djamel Belmadi (pictured) yesterday said his team was desperate to win the Emir Cup trophy, an achievement which has eluded the Qatar’s football giants.
Speaking ahead of the quarter-finals against Al Sailiya (today), the Lekhwiya coach said his players were only targeting the title.
“Lekhwiya have achieved quite a lot in recent years but we have never won the Emir Cup. Winning the Emir Cup is the new target for my side,” Belmadi said.
Lekhwiya host Al Sailiya –coached by Sami Trabelsi – at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.
“We are striving to be better in big events,” he added.
“This season was difficult for us. I have explained this before. We have faced a lot of problems because of frequent absences of players due to international call-ups.
“It has been difficult to achieve desired results and we lost the QSL title and the Qatar Cup as well,” Belmadi said. “We are looking at the Emir Cup campaign with aims of winning it. After this we have to prepare for the AFC Champions League clash. “But first we have to look at Al Sailiya clash,” the Algerian said. “Al Sailiya is a balanced side and play well as a unit. They have a good coach who is experienced. They reached the final two years ago. We must deal with the situation well,” Belmadi said.
Trabelsi, the Al Sailiyah coach, said: “We are at a very important stage of the tournament. Our focus is on our next match. As always, we will play to win.”
He added: “Al Sailiya is in a better position that it ever has been. God Willing, we will do well. We all know Lekhwiya’s potential but we are focused.”
Trabelsi said: “My side competes well. Lekhwiya has missed players because their players appear for Qatar national side from time to time. But it is important to be in readiness for a side like Lekhwiya.”
Al Sailiya coach said Lekhwiya can’t be taken lightly.
“They have a great bunch of players and we should not play with mistakes,” Trabelsi said.
“Physically we’d e fresher of the two sides since they have been busy with AFC Champions League matches as well,” Trabelsi said.
The Peninsula
