Xavi: Happy to win my first title with Al-Sadd

Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez spoke of his delight after the 1-0 win over Al-Duhail, which saw his side lift the season-opening Sheikh Jassim Cup on Saturday.

Speaking after the match, Xavi said: “I am very happy to win my first title with Al-Sadd as a coach. We worked hard throughout the past few weeks, in order to be able to win titles. Today, we are on the podium as champions of the first trophy on offer this season. This obviously gives us a lot of happiness and also a psychological boost, to push us forward in the other tournaments. We are still at the start and we have a lot of work to do if we are to win more titles.”

“We deserve this title and the players deserve to be champions, after the performance they displayed throughout the game. It wasn’t an easy match; we knew very well how difficult it would be.”

He added: “I want to congratulate the players for their excellent displays, not just in this game but in the last three games we have played since the start of the season. I also want to congratulate the management and the fans, on winning the first title of the season. Also, I congratulate the coaching staff who worked a lot for this moment. We will now keep working hard to win more titles.”