Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez spoke of the importance of his side’s upcoming Qatar Clasico clash with Al-Rayyan in the QNB Stars League, and stressed on the need to continue winning.
“We have a new Clasico coming up, and it’s a very important game for us because it means a lot in footballing terms, of course, and it’s also very important for the competition because we are 12 points ahead of Al Rayyan.”
“Our target in this game is to win and it will be our 10th game without a loss. It’s also a clasico so it’s really important for us, for the supporters and the team.”
He added: “We are in a very good moment, but after winning the Amir Cup, we must change our mentality because this is a different competition. We have to forget what we did in the Amir Cup final and focus now on this game, which will be really tough and complicated.”
Asked about Al-Rayyan’s new coach Laurent Blanc, he said: “We didn’t play together but I respect him a lot because he’s a big name in the world of football. Welcome to Qatar, and to the QSL.”
“He’s a very experienced coach. I don’t know if he had time or not to do training, but for sure, it will be a privilege to meet him again. He was a big player and is also a big coach. This means that now we have many great coaches here in the QSL, so it will be more difficult.”
As for the team’s desire to continue winning, Xavi said: “In football, we have to continue winning. Win, win and win. We are in a really good period now but we cannot relax. This is football; football cannot stop and we will not stop.”
“We want to compete, and we want to keep going. We are in a very good position in the league and we cannot slip. We play against Al-Rayyan. It’s a Clasico and everybody is excited to play against Al-Rayyan. We are ready to compete and to keep going like this.”
