Al Rayyan coach Manuel Jimenez (right) and goalkeeper Soud Abdulla during the pre-match press conference. Rayyan play against Muaither today in the QSL. PICTURE: Othman Iraqi
By Joe Koraith/Doha
Relegation is a dreaded word in the world of football. And it is especially cruel when the club that could be relegated have won the league title seven times. Al Rayyan have had their glory days in the Qatar Stars League but now they are in a desperate do-or-die situation where a win will see them survive relegation and a loss will see them drop out of the top flight for the first time in 26 years. It’s the last round of matches of QSL’s 2013-14 season and Rayyan will take on Muaither today in their battle to save themselves from the drop.
Muaither, having managed only 14 points this season so far, have already been relegated. For Rayyan their relegation battle is against Qatar Sports Club who have 28 points are currently third from the bottom. If Rayyan win today they will have 29 points. And then they will have to hope that Qatar SC lose against this season’s champions Lekhwiya and thus getting relegated themselves. To make matters tough for Rayyan, the last time they faced their opponents, Muaither blanked them 3-0. A difficult battle is on the cards for the former champions.
“It is a difficult situation for big club like Rayyan. The players, the administration, no one wanted to be in this situation. But we will play to the best of our abilities. Our target is to take the three points and hope the other result goes our way,” said Rayyan manager Manuel Jimenez, during the pre-match press conference.
“We have one last chance with this game. We are in a situation that we were afraid of in the middle of the season. But now it is up to us to do our job,” he added.
When asked about the morale of his players Jimenez insisted that their experience will help them pull through. “The players read so many different things about the game from the media but the experience of the players will help them see the reality and focus on that part of the game which is in their control.”
Jimenez said that he trusted his players will deliver the required result. “We know how important the last game is. I trust my players and I am really, really confident that Rayyan can save the season. We know our job is to stay in this league. So we will play to stay in the league.”
INJURIES TO BLAME
Injuries have played spoilsport with Rayyan’s ambitions this season insisted the coach. “The team changed so many times through the season because of injuries and that affected us in a big way this season. We were never able to put our best show,”said Jimenez. “We had to play more than two games a week. that’s when we realised we were short of players,” he added.
Soud Abdulla, the Rayyan goalkeeper, knows he has a huge role to play in helping his team win the match but insisted that only a team performance will get them the desired result.“If I don’t concede a goal then I have done a good job but the strikers have to score a goal. This is a team game. Everybody has a role. In the end everybody will say that Rayyan won the game, not that the goalkeeper or the striker won the game,” said Adbulla.
He also requested the fans to come out and support the team. “We apologise to the fans for not achieving their ambitions. All the players and the management assume responsibility for this. But we ask the fans to come out there and support us, he added.
As for Rayyan’s beleaguered opponents, Muaither coach Mohammed Sahel insisted that despite his team’s certain relegation they would still go out with a fight. “We still have to focus on the game; we will play honestly and give our maximum. Fortunately it is an important game. We are sorry about Rayyan’s situation, I think Rayyan started to improve but recently they have played some big teams and struggled,”said Sahel.
TOUGHER BATTLE
The other team in the relegation battle, Qatar SC, know that they have the tougher job on hand in having to defeat the League champions Lekhwiya. But coach Sebastiao Lazaroni said he was hoping that his players would show the desired quality. “I told my players that as a coach I have never been in this situation before and at the beginning of the season we didn’t think we would be in this position. Let’s hope the players show me the quality I know they have,” said Lazaroni in what was his last press conference since he is leaving after this season.
“We have to try and remain in the first division, this is a final game and it is in our hands, we need courage and draw on all our resources to try and win this game. It’s a match where we cannot make any mistakes,” he added.
Two teams who are fighting to save themselves from the drop. Two teams who have their destiny in their hands. Now to see which set of players step up to the occasion.