FROM LEFT: Lekhwiya captain Madjid Bougherra, Lekhwiya coach Eric Gerets, Al Sadd coach Hussein Amute and Al Sadd defender Mohammed Kasola touch the Heir Apparent Cup trophy after the pre-match press conference at Al Sadd Stadium. PICTURES BY: SHAIVAL DALAL
BY DENZIL PINTO
DOHA: Al Sadd coach Hussein Amute believes the team that makes the less number of mistakes on the pitch will win the Heir Apparent Cup, the Moroccan said ahead of today’s final against Qatar Stars League (QSL) rivals Lekhwiya.
Amute, who guided Al Sadd to their first QSL title since 2007, insists the final will be a close battle between the QSL champions and the runners-up.
“It will be open for both sides. Both teams have young players. The attacking line will score the goals but also the defence line should not make any mistakes. The team who makes less mistakes on the pitch will win the game,” said Amute during the pre-match press conference at Al Sadd Stadium.
Amute, whose side will be aiming to triumph for the sixth time in the tournament, admits that Lekhwiya’s participation in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday could help his team.
“Lekhwiya are very strong with good players who are competing in the Champions League. Lekhwiya may suffer from fatigue which could help us,” said the Al Sadd coach.
The five-time champions, were instrumental in the QSL this season with the likes of former Real Madrid striker Raul and Qatar forward Ibrahim Khalfan, who scored a wonderful solo goal in the 3-1 victory against Al Rayyan in the semi-final, playing important roles in the team.
Despite reaching the final, Amute will be treating today’s match as an ‘ordinary’ game.
He said: “I prefer to treat this game like an ordinary match. It will be open because there are many good players in both teams.”
“The game will be exciting and it will be of a very high level and will be an honour to play this game and shake the hand of the Heir Apparent H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,” he added.
Speaking of any injury concerns, Amute said: “For Al Sadd we don’t have many troubles with our injuries but I would like to say the group will be fit for the game. Even if we miss a couple of players we will have enough players to cope.”
After overcoming Eljaish 2-1 in the semi-final thanks to a late winner from Nam Tae-Hee, Lekhwiya will be eager to gain revenge after losing their QSL title to Al Sadd last month.
After beating Saudi Arabia’s Al Ettifaq 2-0, which earned Lekhwiya a place in the last-16 stage of the AFC Champions League, coach Eric Gerets is concerned about the team’s preparations.
He said: “We want this Cup but the problem is our sporting enemy is our obstacle. Al Sadd are slight favourites because they had a magnificent championship campaign and have had a little bit more preparation than us.”
The Belgian added: “But in football you never know because we will do our best to beat them. They only thing I worry about is the preperation of our players from yesterday (Wednesday).”
Gerets, who took over as coach in October believes that his players could be fatigue after 65 minutes. The Belgian who has this season’s QSL’s top goal-scorer Sebastian Soria among his players, said: “When it will be an advantage will be the second half maybe after 65-70 minutes but I don’t think it’s right to say it will be an excuse. The match is a final and it’s important to play a good game and win the final.”
He added: “If we play well, we deserve to win the trophy, and if you lose the Cup, of course you’ll be disappointed. If you lose the Cup against a team who are already champions (Al Sadd) and they prove they were the better team on the pitch then you accept you lost the Cup because the opposition was good.”
Lekhwiya captain Madjid Bougherra said his team will have to be wary of Al Sadd’s threats.
The Algerian defender said: “You just have to look at someone like Khalfan to realise what a good player he is. Everyone knows about Raul and what a good player he is. Then you have Younis Mahmoud who has a lot of experience. So it is not just a job for me but for the whole team.”
Today’s eagerly anticipated match will kick off at 6.45pm at Al Sadd Stadium. THE PENINSULA
