Al Sadd captain Xavi Hernandez’s first season in Qatar will come to a fitting finale today when the former Barcelona skipper leads his side out for the decider of the Emir Cup against Lekhwiya. With the whole country looking to Al Sadd Sports Club Stadium in anticipation of the match, the FIFA World Cup winner has his sights firmly set on adding further silverware to his glittering trophy cabinet.
“We are very happy to be in the final, we will try to finish the season in the best way possible – by winning the Emir Cup,” Xavi told www.sc.qa. “It would be the ideal way to finish the season with His Highness the Emir present, and as captain I would love to lift that trophy.”
The former Spanish midfielder continued: “For the Qataris this is the most important competition and we are eager to win this final. We are playing a great team with very good players in Lekhwiya - they have beaten us twice this season and we have won once. It will be a difficult match, but we have trained well all week and I am looking forward to winning my first title in Qatar. We want to give our fans a moment of happiness because they deserve it.”
Xavi, who will be looking to add a 29th senior title to his collection today, also tipped Barcelona to add a second domestic trophy to their La Liga title on Sunday in the Copa del Rey final in Madrid.
“Barcelona are the favourites in the final. Sevilla played a fantastic second half against Liverpool in the Europa Cup final and were much the better side. They have the experience of playing the big finals. Sevilla’s achievement is outstanding, but Barcelona are the best team in the world at the moment and I hope that they can win and achieve the double.”
Reflecting on his first season since leaving the Catalan side last year, the 2010 FIFA World Cup winner said he had made one of the best decisions of his life in coming to the host nation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.
“Of course, I miss my former colleagues, the day-to-day and training sessions with the ‘rondo’ to start off with, the happiness of the dressing room. I spent many years there and, of course, I miss things. But I can say that it has been one of the best decisions of my life to come to Qatar. It is a fantastic country which has welcomed me and my family, and it is a great project here with Aspire and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In the coming years, I hope to give an even better performance. I am proud and very satisfied to be here.”
Xavi concluded by highlighting Qatar’s organisational capabilities which have transformed Doha into a world capital of sports. “Qatar is right now one of the capitals of sport in the world. They invest a lot in sport. It is not just football but every week you have top competitions here in athletics, chess, rugby, swimming and many other disciplines, all of which have been organised with great efficiency. Qatar wants to be known as a world capital of sport, and that is laudable.”  (SC.qa)