Al-Sadd launches preseason training

The Al-Sadd football first team launched on Sunday evening its preparations for the upcoming 2016-17 season with a training session held at the club training pitch.

The training was overseen by assistant coach Hisham Zahid, physio Joao Marcos and goalkeeping coach Nando Scarpello in the absence of head coach Jesualdo Ferreira who will join training at the foreign camp in Austria.

The team management had earlier decided in coordination with Ferreira to hold the foreign preseason camp in Kaprun, Austria for the sixth season in a row.  The camp will be held between the 15th and the 30th of July and will involve the participation of all the players. Al-Sadd will play two friendlies during the camp.

At the end of the Kaprun camp, the team will return to Doha to continue the preparations without the internationals, who will be away with the national team for the World Cup qualifiers.

Later in August, the team will travel to Al-Ain in the UAE for a ten-day camp, during which they will play a number of friendlies. The Al-Ain camp will also be held without the internationals.

Finally, the team will return to Doha once again to conclude its preparations ahead of the start of the league in mid-September.

The first training session on Sunday saw the coaches focus on physical fitness with individual and group exercises in the first part of the session. Later, the players worked on ball drills in small areas, focusing on short and long passing.

Sporting director Mohammed Gholam Al-Balooshi met with the players of the team before the session to talk about the importance of the upcoming period, especially with the need to prepare well and work hard in preseason training.