BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: New coach Jose Daniel Carreno said inside knowledge about the Qatar Stars League (QSL) players should help him hit the ground running as he tries to help Qatar reach the finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and the 2019 Asian Cup in the UAE.
The 52-year-old Uruguayan last week replaced Algerian Djamel Belmadi, who was sacked one year into his contract as Qatar coach.
Qatar have never reached the finals of a FIFA World Cup.
“I have spent five months with Al Arabi. I have come close to knowing most of the players in the league,” Carreno said yesterday. “We will prepare in the best possible way. We will work as a group.”
“We have started our work. We don’t have time. We have matches (to play). We have to work hard,” the Uruguayan said.
“All the QSL players are distinctive for the way they play. The ones who play well will have opportunities. I don’t want to name names but we will see who suits us,” he said when asked about his plans.
“We have prepared a plan about the way we will deal with national team’s strategy. We will make changes if needed,” Carreno said.
“We have objectives and we want to start a new phase. We want to start preparing for (2018) World Cup qualifiers,” the Uruguayan said.
Qatar’s 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches commence in June this year.
Carreno said he will start his campaign by taking his side to England for a training camp after two weeks.
“It will be long and difficult path. Of course I trust the work, the players, administration, the group who is working with us. So we have to move one step at a time. We have to do our best to be among the 12 teams,” Carreno said
“We have to finish this phase. I reiterate that I have the trust of all people concerned. I thank QFA for this opportunity. We have signed the contract,” he said.
“We have to adapt to new methodology — the qualification is the same for Asian and World Cup,” he said.
The Uruguayan — commonly known as ‘El Crespo’ — played as a striker and spent the majority of his career at Montevideo Wanderers.
The veteran coach is not new to the Middle East, having managed Saudi side Al Nassr before signing up with QSL giants Al Arabi.
Carreno will be third coach for Qatar since early last year. Qatari national Fahad Thani was replaced by Belmadi in March 2014.
Belmadi failed to spark good results in his one-year reign as coach, prompting QFA to announce Carreno’s name last week. Under Belmadi, Qatar lost all three games at the 2015 Asian Cup and got knocked out in the first round.
QFA President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani thanked Belmadi for his “services”.
“Yes, there were great achievements by Belmadi. We know that the results in the past were good, especially in the Gulf Cup. National team has achieved great results,” Sheikh Hamad said.
When asked why Belmadi resigned, the QFA President said: “He was not made to resign. I think you read the (QFA) press release. We did not agree to renew the contract. We wanted stability in the team but we did not reach that. I want to thank Belmadi. He achieved a lot. This is life. We have a new coach. We wish him the best. We are going to have qualifiers in June and that’s our main task. That’s our first phase.”
Sheikh Hamad said: “The target is to reach the World Cup in 2018 and the Asian Cup in 2019. We have reached that (agreement) with the new coach.”
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: The new coach Qatar’s national football team, Jose Daniel Carreno, will start his stint by taking his side to England for a training camp.
The Qatar Football Association (QFA) has announced that the national side will base its camp at St George’s Park for the first phase of training ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The training camp will also be part of the preparation for the 2019 Asian Cup, the QFA said. The training camp will be held from May 26 to June 4.
The 2019 FIFA World Cup will be held in Russia while the 2019 Asian Cup will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates.
The Qatari side will also play two friendly matches during the camp.
St George’s Park is the English Football Association’s national football centre, situated on a 330 acre site at Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire. The centre was officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on October 9, 2012.
THE PENINSULA
