Bounedjah: We are ready for the Clasico

Al-Sadd’s Algerian forward Baghdad Bounedjah is ready and raring to go ahead of the much awaited QNB Stars League clash with rivals Al-Rayyan.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Bounedjah said: “We are ready for this game. It is well known that the Clasico is a big game and there will be a lot of fans. We hope to turn out in the best possible way.”

“I expect there will be a high level of football from both teams. We hope we will be highly focused because we know that it will be tougher for Al-Sadd, as we are coming after a tough game in the AFC Champions League.”

“This is also a tough game and we need to deal with it in the proper manner,” added the Algerian star. “We hope to make our fans happy and get the win in this crucial game.”

Bounedjah scored in both ties against Al-Rayyan last season and when asked if he could repeat that, he said: “I’m striving for a win. Of course, my duty is to score and I will obviously hope to score but what’s important is that the team wins.”

He added: “My focus is always on scoring and helping my team with assists. All of us together, we work towards making our fans happy.”

And as for the effect of fatigue on the players, Bounedjah said: “At Al-Sadd, we are fully capable of battling fatigue. We will return to our full strength gradually. We hope that this happens as soon as possible, as we have number of important games coming up.”