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From left: Eric Gerets, Lekhwiya coach and Hussein Amotta, Al Sadd coach.
By Sports Reporter/Doha
A week after they lost the Qatar Stars League title to Al Sadd, Lekhwiya prepare for a final go at Hussein Amotta’s side on the last day of the season.
Last week, Al Sadd, after trailing 0-1 at half-time, rallied for a 3-1 win over Al Kharatiyat and with it picked up their 61st overall title since the club’s formation in 1969.
Yesterday, in the pre-match conference Lekhwiya’s Belgian coach Eric Gerets couldn’t hide his frustration but admitted that the best team won the league.
“It’s always disappointing when you lose the league. At half time, we had hope because Al Sadd were losing 1-0 but then when we heard it was 3-1 we knew it was over. Sometimes you just have to hold your hand up and admit the best team won the league,” he said.
Gerets added that the side is not thinking about any revenge but is definitely training its sights on other competitions.
“It’s too late for revenge so there is no point speaking about that. We have lost the title; we don’t look at this game that way,” he said.
“We have two big games coming up for the Champions League and important games in the cups to prepare for so we have not lost our focus.
“We have never won the Emir Cup or the Heir Apparent Cup. We’ve always been knocked out in the semi-finals so this year we would like to achieve something special in these competitions.”
Amotta, meanwhile, has other problems on his hands. For the last game, many of his players are on national duty.
“We have 10 players with the national team so we will have to cope without them,” the Moroccan said. “This is a good opportunity for the players who have not played too often to get some experience.”
The QSL title has given Amotta confidence that young Arab coaches can do wonders in the world of football.
“In Morocco, I won many titles so I never had any doubt in my own confidence. Now we have many young Arab coaches winning the titles and this is good to see,” he said. “I was champion of the African Champions League. It’s also a good opportunity for Fahad Thani to lead the national side and we will help him with his job.”
In the other important matches of the day, Al Rayyan will take on El Jaish and Al Gharafa will play Qatar Sports Club.
Fixtures
Match Venue
Al Kharaitiyat vs Al Sailiya Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium
Al Wakrah vs Al Arabi Soud bin Abdalrahman Stadium
Al Khor vs Umm Salal Al Khor Stadium
Al Sadd vs Lekhwiya Jassim bin Hamad Stadium
Al Rayyan vs El Jaish Ahmed bin Ali Stadium
Al Gharafa vs Qatar SC Thani bin Jassim Stadium
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