Fresh from winning the Qatar Cup title, defending champions Al Duhail are set to take on Al Sailiya in the quarter-final of the 51st Amir Cup, with coach Hernan Crespo urging the quadruple-seeking Red Knights to stay focused at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium tonight.
Al Duhail defeated Al Sadd 2-0 in the Qatar Cup final last Thursday to seal their second title of the season, eight days after winning the Ooredoo Cup with win against Umm Salal in the final.
The Argentine coach said it would be a challenge for his side amid the celebratory atmosphere but Al Duhail, who are also leading the QNB Stars League (QSL) standings, must focus on the remaining two trophies for a clean sweep of titles this season.
“It’s difficult to get out of the celebratory atmosphere after winning back-to-back trophies and this will be a test of mentality of my players. I am convinced about the capabilities of my players. We have relished good days after winning the Ooredoo Cup and the Qatar Cup and we are looking forward to continue winning the titles,” Crespo told a pre-match press conference. “We are a champion team and we are pursuing our goal of sweeping all the titles this season. We are only halfway to achieving our goal this season and we must stay focused on the task as there are two titles remaining,” he told reporters yesterday.
With the form they are in, Al Duhail are hot favourites against Al Sailiya, who are on the bottom of QSL standings and are battling to avoid relegation. But Crespo is not expecting a walk in the park for his side against the Peregrines.
“Right now our immediate task is the match against Al Sailiya and we are focusing on the match. We must not be complacent because of their standing in the QSL because this tournament is different. Amir Cup is dear to everyone that gives teams extra motivation,” Crespo said.
Al Duhail’s South Korean star Nam Tae-hee said the team is eager to win the Amir Cup for the second consecutive year.
“We are desperate to retain the title. We are looking to win the quarter-final and advance in the tournament,” he said at a press conference.
“We will give our best to defend the title. The team has showed its strength in recent tournaments and we are looking forward to maintain our performance. Amir Cup is a tournament every team wants to win and we are no different,” he added.
“We didn’t have an ideal start to the season that kicked off with a loss but we bounced back strongly and stay focused and managed to win two tournaments besides leading the QSL standings. We want to wrap up the season by sealing the quadruple,” said Tae-hee.
Meanwhile, Al Sailiya coach Mirghani Al Zain, who recently replaced veteran Sami Trabelsi, said he was taking the Al Duhail match as a challenge.
“I am taking this quarter-final as my first training experience as a first coach. We must give our best possible performance against an in-form team.”
Al Zain added anything is possible in football particularly in the tournaments played on knockout basis.
“The situation is different in these tournaments than the league. Al Duhail at the moment is a team to beat and playing them this time is a huge challenge but we will try to give a strong show against them,” he said.
The match will kick off at 9:45pm.
