Ferreira: Al-Gharafa clash is important; I hope we can repeat the display against Al-Sailiya

Al-Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira counts his side’s upcoming clash with Al-Gharafa as one their toughest in the QNB Stars League.

Addressing the media at Wednesday’s pre-match press conference, Ferreira said: “This match is very important for us. We will face a team that has made many changes, by bringing in a European and an Asian superstar.”

“Our games against Al-Gharafa have always resulted in close scorelines. We will have to work hard to win.”

Ferreira added: “Al-Gharafa won their last two games and despite their league position, their performance has been attractive. Al-Sadd also put up a great display against Al-Sailiya and I hope we can repeat that against Al-Gharafa to get the three points.”

As for the team’s slip in form in the first phase, Ferreira said: “Al-Sadd have a number of talented players, who are all relied upon by the national teams. We are proud of that. Many of these players have not been with us for long periods and this has made things difficult for us.”

Ferreira also pointed out that injuries and the subsequent need to repeatedly change the lineup caused problems for Al-Sadd.

Al-Sadd will now have another difficult period in the near future, as they tackle challenging fixtures in Asia, in addition to the league. Ferreira said that the team “won’t have much time to practice during this period.”

Asked about the return of Al-Sadd star Abdelkarim Hassan after a loan spell at Belgian side KAS Eupen, Ferreira said: “Abdelkarim has returned from Europe and he is fully ready. He is one of our own and knows the philosophy of the club. We were keen to use this golden opportunity to get him to help us in the game against Al-Sailiya.”

“Abdelkarim has learnt a lot during his time in Europe and this is what I have seen while working with him. He has a big future and his level is improving from game to game. The national team is going to benefit a lot from him.”

As for the presence of two world stars in Xavi and Sneijder during Thursday’s game, Ferreira said that he won’t talk about as it would take a long time.

“There are a number of excellent players who have played in the Qatari league and they were excellent teachers like Raul, Lisandro Lopez and Lucho. The clubs must benefit from their experience just as Al-Sadd benefited from Xavi, who has been a guide for the young Qatari players.”

Ferreira was also asked to rate the performance of Al-Sadd’s summer signing Khoukhi Boualem. “It is early to judge his performance, especially as he hasn’t trained with his properly due to his injuries and national team call-ups,” said the coach.

The Portuguese coach concluded his talk by saying: “I want to congratulate the Qatar national U23 team. I saw all of their matches and they are the perfect representatives for the country. Penalty shootouts can be unfair and this is what happened to Al-Sadd in two consecutive seasons at the AFC Champions League.”

The press conference was attended by various mediapersons including those of local newspapers, Al Kass TV and Agence France Press.