DOHA: Al Sadd captain and Barcelona legend Xavi yesterday said he was ‘happy with the changes made’ by new coach Jesualdo Ferreira (pictured). THE PENINSULA
Al Sadd roped in experienced Portuguese coach Jesualdo Ferreira to replace Hussain Amutah a little over two weeks.
In the first game under Ferreira, Al Sadd were stunned by Al Sailiya but the Doha giants turned the tide with a major win in last week’s ‘Qatar Classico’ when his side beat Al Rayyan 2-1 at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Thursday.
“I am happy to work under this famous coach. I would like to thank the coach for all what he said about me,” Xavi said yesterday as his side prepared to take on El Jaish today.
“The coach is well experienced and as players we are very happy to work with him. We are happy with the changes made by the coach. And we believe that we will see the fruits of those changes in the matches to come,” the seasoned midfielder said. “The results of the new coach’s effect on the team are seen. Progressively coach will understand the players and their roles in a better way,” Xavi said.
When asked about his team’s match against Al Rayyan - witnessed by a packed Al Sadd Stadium - Xavi said he was look at future games.
“Now we have to forget about the Al Rayyan match. We have to focus on winning the next game. The gap between us and Rayyan is 9 points and we have to work on reducing that,” the former Spain international said.
“I was very happy to participate in this Qatar Classico, specially with the presence of the huge crowd. I was very happy to see Al Sadd fans coming to the stadium to support us,” he added.
Today’s clash at Al Gharafa Stadium starts at 6:30pm.
