Ferreira: Proud to manage Al-Sadd; grateful for the club’s trust

Ferreira: Proud to manage Al-Sadd; grateful for the club’s trust
28 Nov 2015

​Jesualdo Ferreira has expressed his pride in becoming the manager of Al-Sadd, one of the biggest clubs in Qatar and Asia with achievements both at the domestic and continental level, in addition to its appearance at the Club World Cup and facing big European sides.

Speaking at the press conference to unveil him as the new manager of Al-Sadd, Ferreira said: I am happy to arrive in Doha for my first experience in the Gulf region and I hope I will be successful in getting good results in it.” He also expressed his thanks to all those who attended and welcomed him.

Ferreira went on to add: “Coaching Al-Sadd is a new challenge for me, one that I hope I can be succesful in by leading the club to its true place, where it competes on the podium again. My goal is to continue the trophy haul. I hope everyone at the club cooperates in that regard.”
He also said that he had arrived in Doha four days ago and he is preparing to lead in the team in the remaining league matches as well as the domestic cups, in addition to the AFC Champions League.

As for his evaluation of the team, Ferreira said: “I cannot evaluate the team especially as it was under another coach. But I know that Al-Sadd has young players with great abilities and also excellent foreign players too. I also know that we will be a big team like Lekhwiya who are the defending league champions.” He pointed out that he will try to work with the players to win all the matches. He went on to express his hope that his stay at the Al-Sadd will be a good one, something which does not come without the cooperation of everyone at the club.

As for his knowledge of the Qatar Stars League, Ferreira said that he followed the QSL two years ago when his former player at FC Porto Lucho Gonzalez was playing for Al-Rayyan.

Ferreira said: “Al-Sadd is a big club and they have good players. We will not look to change anything in the upcoming period or to get new players until we know all the players well enough. This includes the Algerian player Baghdad Bounedjah, who I know very well and I have seen him play twice with his team Etoile du Sahel.

When asked about Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup, Ferreira said: “Qatar is a developed country and it will be ready for the World Cup before schedule. I have seen the preparations which have been taking place at Khalifa Stadium and the it is an architectural masterpiece.” He pointed out that many of the world championships had suffered delays in preparations and everyone saw what happened in Brazil 2014 but he thinks that the preparations will be at the highest level in Qatar.

The new Al-Sadd coach also went on to say: “I am happy to be in Qatar and I thank the Egyptian fans for the good period in Egypt; I have fond memories of my time there.”

The Portuguese coach expressed his happiness in leading a big club like Al-Sadd, thanking the club management for the trust they placed in him and praising the general state of affairs of the club in the current period as it is still competing for the league championship.

Ferreira also pointed out that the ambition never stops at any point and that the team had both local and foreign stars, who are known to be the most prominent in the league. He also called on everyone to focus and stand behind the team.