Al Sadd team training ahead of today's Emir Cup semi-final against El Jaish.
Doha football giants Al Sadd will be eyeing a special performance to beat El Jaish in the Emir Cup semi-final, knowing a victory today would help them move closer to a rare trophy double this season.
Al Sadd, who host El Jaish at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium today, won the Qatar Cup at the end of last month and are just a win away from reaching the final of the country's most popular football tournament.
Jesualdo Ferreira, the Al Sadd coach, is relishing the opportunity of a win to reach the final set to be held on May 19.
"If we win the Emir Cup, it will be a successful season because it’s good to win two titles," Ferreira said.
"My team is motivated to go for the win and overcome El Jaish. Our aim is to reach the final," the Portuguese coach added.
The winner of today's match will clash with Al Rayyan, who got past Lekhwiya 3-1 in yesterday's first semi-final.
"I wanted to win the QSL title but I don’t think our season will be bad if we win the Emir Cup," the veteran coach said .
Ferreira was quick to admit the feisty nature of tactics usually employed by El Jaish who are coached by Sabri Lamouchi, could pose problems for Al Sadd.
“Facing El Jaish will be difficult. Everyone knows we just played El Jaish recently. Our matches are always well-fought," Ferreira said. "They have players of high calibre. I was hoping not to face them since we have already done that many times this season. Actually we’ve already defeated them before so we are confident," he said.
As for Al Sadd strikers Xavi and Hassan Al Haydos being nominated for the Player of the Season award, the coach said: “I am very happy with these choices for the awards.
Xavi is a player of the highest level and he won titles with Barcelona and Spain. Hassan is one of the best players in Qatar and the region. I will be very happy if the award went to either of these two players.”
When asked abut his team not winning the Qatar Stars League (QSL) title, Ferreira said: "Al Sadd played against a number of big teams and got many points from them but unfortunately we lost some points by drawing with lower ranked teams. I hope this doesn’t happen in the next season.”
Al Sadd striker Hamza Al Sanhaji said he is expecting a dog-fight in the semi-final today.
"The match against El Jaish will be difficult. Our preparations have been as usual. We have to get the win and reach the final. El Jaish are a strong team but we hope to overcome them,” Al Sanhaji said.
"We are at the end of the season and throughout this season, we have prepared in the same manner for all matches. Everyone is fully focused and we know the importance of this match. We are all concentrating on winning the title,” he warned.
"I am at the service of the coach and the position he chooses. The team will look to exploit the absence of El Jaish defender Lucas Mendes who has been the heart of their defence this season. We want to make use of his absence and also all the chances that we create, in order to win and reach the final,” he added.
Choosing his words carefully, El Jaish coach Lamouchi thanked his team for taking the club forward. With Lekhwiya and El Jaish being merged to form a new club 'Duhail' last month, Lamouchi struck a melancholic note ahead of the semi-final today.
"We want a bit of emotion for this great club and the fans. We are here to talk about the next game but I want to thank everyone who has supported me for the last two years or so," Lamouchi said.
"We have worked together. I want to thank my staff members. It feels a little bit strange that we did a great job. This could be the last press conference but I hope not," Lamouchi added.
"We are going to play against the best club in Doha. They are a good side. We lost to them recently. It is not easy but at the end of the day we are playing to reach the final of the Emir Cup," he said.
"It will be a difficult game but we want to try to win, to enjoy the game and give our best," Lamouchi said.
