Ahli coach Milan Macala (left) and Sailiya coach Sami Trabelsi talking during the pre-match press conference yesterday. Picture: Othman Iraqi

It is time. Top-notch coaches brought in. Expensive players signed on. Stadiums spruced up and ready for action. After that long break, the 2014-15 season of the Qatar Stars League kicks off today with the first match taking place between Al Ahli and Al Sailiya. The match will take place at the Al Arabi stadium.

And it will be a fitting opener to the season. Both these teams had put in a strong performance last season with Sailiya finishing a strong fourth and Ahli finishing sixth. Sailiya coach Sami Trabelsi who won the Best Coach award last season and Ahli coach Milan Macala have managed to turnaround the fortunes of their respective teams making others sit up and take notice of theirs and their team’s performances.

But all of that is now in the past and the teams will have all to do again this season. Their good performance last season means that there will be pressure on the teams to do better. Ahli coach Milan Macala brought his team up from last position in 2012 to a strong sixth position last season. But there have been a lot of changes and coach Macala insists that the strengths and weaknesses of the teams will only be visible after two rounds. “At the start of the league you can’t say which team is strong or not. We have changed a lot of players. Many young players have come in. We have been preparing but only after two rounds will we be able to find out the readiness of our players and about the quality of other teams,” said Macala during the pre-match press conference yesterday.

“All teams are waiting to analyse their opponents. Serious competition will start only in the third round,” Macala added.

The Czech coach is hoping that his players are able to repeat last season’s performance. “I hope that we play in the same style as last season. Not only did we reach the sixth position but we played with good creativity and had controlled possession,” said the 70-year-old.

“Who doesn’t want to play at the top of the league. But the focus is on playing well and doing as the best as a team,” Macala said.

Sailiya coach Trabelsi knows that it will be a tough ask to improve upon his team’s fourth place finish from last season. Changes to his team mean that they will also take a few games to settle in. “We have to see this season as a new challenge. Other teams have seen our performance from last season and will not take us lightly. We have changed almost 50 per cent of our team. So we have to find the right combination quickly. We have players with experience and the team is improving day by day. But we will have to take it match by match,” said Trabelsi. 

Trabelsi also knows that his first assignment this season will be a tough one. “Ahli had a good season last year. They were one of the best teams in Qatar last season. They are very organised and we had a difficult game against them last season. We know it is not going to be an easy game,” said the Tunisian.

The Sailiya coach is hoping his new signings are able to gel with the team quickly. “The new players have good quality but they need maybe 3-4 matches to get into top gear and improve on their quality. I hope that this year they can do good things with us,” he added.

The second match which will be held at the same venue will see the Al Arabi, the home team, take on Al Khor. Arabi had finished in fifth position last season but have roped in former Chelsea player and Dynamo Moscow coach Dan Petrescu hoping for a better performance under him.

The Romanian said that his first match in Qatar will be a tough one. “For me it is going to be a big match. It’s the first match of season. It is a very emotional moment for me. I know that it will be a tough match against a team that has lost just six games last season,” said Petrescu. Another facet of the clash is that Petrescu will be pitted against his former Romanian teammate Laszlo Boloni, the coach of Al Khor. “Their coach is a friend. I have played with him in Romania. He will organise a fantastic team. He has immense experience as a player and as a coach. Last season they conceded only 30 goals. So they will be set up brilliantly,” said Petrescu.

“Hopefully we will start with a win. The last six years we have not won the first game of the season and that is not good for Al Arabi. I hope we have the same result as the friendly against Sailiya where we won 4-2,” he added.

Khor coach Boloni knows that despite his team’s strong defensive record they managed to finish only 11th last season and that is after a frantic last set of matches which saw them barely avoid relegation.

“We didn’t have a great last season but we have put in a lot of time in our preparation. And we are hoping for a good result after the amount of preparation that we have put in.” said Boloni yesterday. 

All teams have spent months in preparation. And now it is time for action. The QSL begins today and as the season unfolds so will the fortunes of the teams be revealed.

 

QSL fixtures this month

Teams                            Time         Venue

Today

Al Ahli vs Al Sailiya             06:30pm               Arabi

Al Arabi vs Al Khor             08:45pm               Arabi

 

22/08/2014

Al Shamal vs Al Kharaitiyat 06:30pm           Shamal

Lekhwiya vs Qatar SC       06:30pm               Lekhwiya

El Jaish vs Al Wakrah        08:45pm               Lekhwiya

Al Gharafa vs Umm Salal 08:45pm               Gharafa

 

27/08/2014

Al Sailiya vs Al Shahaniya 06:30pm              Sadd

Umm Salal vs El Jaish       06:30pm Qatar SC

Al Khor vs Lekhwiya          08:45pm               Khor

 

28/08/2014

Al Wakrah vs Al Shamal   06:30pm               Wakrah

Al Gharafa vs Al Arabi       06:30pm               Gharafa

Qatar SC vs Al Ahli             08:45pm               Qatar SC

 

29/08/2014

Al Kharaitiyat vs Al Sadd  06:30pm               Sadd 

 

 

BELOW:

Al Arabi’s new Romanian coach Dan Petrescu (left) will face his teammate and compatriot Lazlo Bolini, the coach of Al Khor in the second match today.

 

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