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Argentine striker Saez had a difficult start to his Qatar Stars League (QSL) career, struggling with goals but by the second-half of the season the Wakrah striker was in the headlines and for all the right reasons. |
Now at the start of his second season in the QSL Saez gave a few minutes of his time before training to speak to QSLOnline about his thoughts on his team, the league and his dramatic improvement in the second-half of last season.
So Jorge thanks for speaking with us. Can you tell us when you arrived to the QSL?
I came in the summer of 2013 and was welcomed by my new team in a very nice way. I have now played one full season in Qatar.
In recent history Al Wakrah has often finished mid-table. How do you see the season ahead for your team?
We started well last season especially in the first 6 or 7 games; we were even as far up as second place. Then after we lost our way and our confidence a bit, we lost a few games and this I am sure affected us.
For me personally the first six months were pretty difficult I didn’t score much and I missed many chances unfortunately. But in the second half of the season I did much better and was scoring regularly however ,the team still struggled and we finished in 9th spot.
Why do you think your form has changed?
Yes, yes I think I was trying to adapt, here in Qatar it is very hot especially in the first few rounds as well as towards the end of the season. Playing football in hot conditions makes everything tougher, I was in a new country and I didn’t speak the language, and here in Qatar there is a different style of play.
After six months my adaptation to the league improved and my relationship with my teammates became better too. Then once I started to score everything became easy that’s why I scored so much in the second half of the season.
Would you say strikers are more fragile, they need confidence to play well?
Yes for a striker it is normal, unlike other players the front men are expected to score. So regardless if they have a good game, everyone will judge the player on how many goals he scores. This is why confidence plays such an important role for strikers. When I don’t score my confidence is down sometimes but as you saw last season, once I started to score, my confidence went up and so I increased the amount of goals I scored.
Tell me a little bit about your history, where have you played football?
Well I started off playing in Argentina as that’s where I am from. I played in all the divisions there and then I moved to Chile for two seasons where I became the top scorer. After that I attracted the interests of people further afield and so I then decided to come to Qatar.
So what made you want to come to the Qatar Stars League?
Al Wakrah really showed how much they wanted me and also I wanted a new challenge, a new experience. I had left Argentina and after Chile I wanted to leave South America and see how things would go. I came to Qatar and saw the city; I liked it so I decided to stay. It’s a very family friendly city and when I went to visit the club, everyone received me very well.
Is the style of football here the same as in South America?
No, I think it is quite different here; the tempo is a little slower. This is due to the hot weather which saps the energy from players. In Argentina the game is played at a faster tempo, it’s almost the same as in Europe. But here you have to concentrate more because the game might be played slowly and all of a sudden the tempo speeds up and a goal is scored so you have to pay full attention.
In this league it is very normal to be winning 2-0 and then in the last 10 minutes the game changes and you lose 3-2. I have seen this many times here, so you really have to concentrate for the full 90 minutes.
Last season you were second top scorer, does this accolade add more pressure on you or do you see it as a positive?
For me, I like pressure, it gives me more motivation. It helps me during training and I need this pressure because its focuses me and really I love football so the pressure is more from myself than form other people.
In the beginning of the season I when I was not scoring I used to work twice as hard, I never give up. This is good for the team and for the other players and I hope that my first half of the season is the same as the second half of last season, which would be great.
You have a new coach who arrived just before the end of last season, how have things changed with the arrival of Kenzari?
It’s normal that when a new coach comes everyone starts back at zero; this is a chance for players who didn’t get a chance to shine under the previous coach especially. The coach then might see and choose a different team from his predecessor for the final eleven. This can help renew the confidence of previously overlooked players.
What else have you enjoyed about being in Qatar?
Well at first my wife and child were not here with me but now things are much better as they are both near me. I like to Doha because it is very family orientated and the people are so friendly and welcoming.
I also know and socialise with many of the new Argentina players in the league for example Lisandro Lopez from Gharafa and others. So I have a good network of friends outside of football.
The best thing about being in Qatar is that I learnt English, if you came to interview me a year ago you would have found it very hard.
I managed to teach myself because most people in my team don’t speak Spanish and they spoke to me in English, so I had to learn very quickly.
Anything else you would like to add?
I would like to say that I would recommend more players from Argentina to come to the Qatar Stars League; it is a very good league with a high quality of players and I am sure Qatari scouts have seen the good play of Argentinians in the league currently and so hopefully more of my countrymen can come and play in this exciting league!