Xavi: We have great potential to win the Qatar Cup

Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez spoke of the importance of the upcoming clash against Al-Duhail in the Qatar Cup final, which will be held on Friday evening at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Xavi said: “The final means a lot to us and we are motivated to win it. My team has great potential to win the title. We played an excellent game against Al Rayyan (in the semifinal).”

“We want our second title this season,” the Al Sadd coach added. “Al Sadd players love to win titles. We will play to enjoy against the strong Al Duhail team. The task is difficult but we are ready for it.”

Regarding his team’s performance in the semi-final match, Xavi said: “The semi-final match against Al Rayyan was the best for us this season, and I hope to continue in this way. I have great confidence in the players to continue our great work this seaosn.”

He added: “The change in date of the tournament to mid-season is an incentive. Winning it will give us a big boost in the QSL and also the Champions League, which will start in February.”

The coach continued: “Al-Sadd’s numbers make us favourites this season over the Al-Duhail team, but tomorrow’s game is completely different. It is a separate game of 90 minutes and it requires one winner. We know Al-Duhail well and we are not afraid of facing them. We have the capability to win the title.”

Regarding the Al-Duhail coach Rui Faria and his style, Xavi said: “Rui Faria is a great coach and I respect him a lot. He earned a lot of experience with Mourinho. We always suffer when playing Al-Duhail because of his good work. I have a great relationship with him and we speak a lot. He has become an excellent coach.”

As for Barcelona’s coaching offer to him over the past few days, Xavi said: “Yes, I received an offer from Barcelona in the presence of Eric Abidal and Oscar Grau, but I did not agree to this offer, especially as it is too early for me to coach Barcelona. But it will still be my dream to coach the team in the future.”

He added: “I love the new Barcelona coach, I love the way he works, and I expect him to succeed with the team.”

Xavi also said: “The first ones to know of my decision to continue with Al Sadd and reject Barcelona’s offer were my family and then the Al Sadd players, because they were the ones who deserved to know. For the past 3 days, I was not able to concentrate, but now my full focus is with Al Sadd ahead of the next match against Al-Duhail.”

The Al-Sadd coach concluded by saying: “I love such matches and I hope that the players will remain in this kind of enthusiasm. We need the support of our fans in the match; they have always kept their promise with the team.”