QNB Stars League side Al Gharafa yesterday presented their new coach Bulent Uygun, who replaced Jean Fernandez after the club parted ways with the Frenchman by mutual consent. Speaking at his unveiling, Al Gharafa’s Football Head Mahmoud al-Ghazal said Bulent was no stranger to the Qatar league since the Turkish coach had many good seasons with Umm Salal and he wished him success.
Replying to a question about the rumours that Al Gharafa would sign players such as Yannick Sajbo, Ismail Mahmoud and Mohammed Montari, al-Ghazal said club president Sheikh Jassim bin Thamer al-Thani had stressed that they had a good mix of youth and experience and they had confidence in them.
“However, we’ll certainly need a new player. When we make the choice, we’ll announce that and we’ll co-ordinate with the new coach, who is happy to be with us and returning to Qatar,” said Al Ghazal.
Bulent expressed his happiness to be working again in Qatar, thanking all those who gave him the opportunity, especially Al Gharafa Sports Club President Sheikh Jassim. He praised the positive football atmosphere in Qatar, describing it as the land of sports dreams as the country gears up to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Al Gharafa will be keen to improve on their seventh place in standings in the QNB Stars League’s second phase. They have only 11 points from two wins, four draws and five defeats. They travel to Al Ahli for their 12th-round match on 12th January.
The Cheetahs’ will also be eager to beat Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor in their AFC Champions League play-off in Doha on 30th January and qualify for the tournament proper. Al Gharafa had recently lifted the QSL Cup by defeating Al Rayyan in the final thus becoming the first team to win the tournament for a second time. They have some Qatari players of high calibre, such as Almahdi Ali, Othman al-Yahri and Amro Seraj, in their ranks.
Bulent, who coached Umm Salal during 2013-16, spoke about the team’s prospects of reaching the top four in the league. “Naturally, we’ve to think in the short and long term. Right now, we’ll take it game by game and, at the end of season, we’ll reset our priorities. As you know, Al Gharafa have won only two games, and drawn and lost many matches.
“I spoke to the club president about this. I think the league’s second phase will be played almost non-stop. We’ve to adapt towards dealing with this situation. We may strengthen the squad with one or two new players,” said Bulent.

Al Sailiya to play against China’s Tianjin Quanjian tomorrow
Al Sailiya SC will play a friendly match against the Chinese team Tianjin Quanjian tomorrow. The match will be played at Aspire Academy’s stadium No 3, where the Chinese team will be based for its winter camp in Doha.
 The match comes as part of Sailiya’s preparations ahead of their meeting with Al Arabi on January 12th in the QNB Stars League.

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