Al Arabi ended a 30-year long wait for the Amir Cup title as they stunned Al Sadd 3-0 in the final to win the prestigious trophy at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan yesterday.
In front of a packed 37,839 attendance, Arabi players, officials and their long-suffering fans in the stands were overcome with emotions as His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani crowned them as the champions.
Prolific striker Omar al-Somah scored a brace, but it was substitute Hamid Ismail who played a key role in Arabi’s first major title since winning the league title 26 years ago. Ismail, who had replaced injured Youssef Msakni at the end of first half, set up the opening goal while also getting into the score sheet with Arabi’s second.
It was also a significant occasion for Arabi’s Younes Ali, who became the first Qatari coach to win the Amir Cup since 1994. Ahmed Omar was the last Qatari coach to win the trophy.
Ali also became the fourth person to lift the prestigious title both as player and coach Ahmed Omar, Hussein Amouta and Xavi Hernandez. Ali, who played as a midfielder before retiring in 2017, won the Amir Cup three times as a player with Al Rayyan.
A jubilant Ali paid tribute to his players for hard work throughout the season and he thanked the fans for sticking with the team for many difficult years. “Al Sadd were a very tough team but we played very well. I want to thank our fans who supported us throughout the season and for many years,” the 40-year-old said.
“We had an excellent season irrespective of our victory in the final. It was sheer teamwork of all people associated with Al Arabi. We will now focus on doing better in the next season and it would require a great deal of hard work,” he added.
Forward Al-Somah, who joined Arabi on a one-year loan from Al Ahli, said they were deserving winners on the night. “We are delighted to win the prestigious Amir Cup after a gap of so many years. This historic title has doubled our joy as we have capped a fine season by lifting this coveted trophy,” the Syrian said.
“We have won the trophy deservingly as we played well in the final. After falling behind in the QSL title race, all our focus was on winning the Amir Cup. The entire Al Arabi team, the coaching, technical and administrative played their part in this success.”
Arabi went into the high-stakes match yesterday hoping to overcome the heartbreak of missing out on the league title to Al Duhail by two points last week, not to mention the pressure of ending the trophy drought. They had beaten Sadd 2-1 in the last round league match last Monday, but were still the underdogs for the title against record 18-time Amir Cup winners.
Friday’s final was also a repeat of the 2020 title clash, which Sadd had won comfortably at the same venue as yesterday. Expectedly, it was Sadd who went on the offensive but were unable to break the deadlock, despite numerous scoring opportunities as Arabi players defended bravely.
Sadd’s star forward Akram Afif curled from outside the box just wide of the far post, while Guilherme Torres’ long-range strike missed the target just before the half-hour mark. Boualem Khoukhi also went close from 10 yards outside the box, while Ali Asad wasted a golden opportunity to score from a close range.
With Sadd looking threatening, Arabi were dealt a blow as the experienced Youssef Msakni limped out due to injury. But that turned out to be a blessing for Arabi as Msakni’s replacement Ismail turned the game in his team’s favour with a terrific second-half display.
After a VAR check cleared Arabi defender Marc Muniesa of fouling Baghdad Boundjah in the box, the ‘Dream Team’ went ahead just after the hour mark. Ismail played a cross from the right and Syrian international al-Somah connected it with a towering header past Sadd goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb.
Sadd searched for the equaliser and should have had one but Bounedjah’s header went just over the bar. With the clock ticking in, Arabi landed the killer blow in the 91st minute through a counterattack.
Former PSG star Rafinha surged ahead from the midfield to set up Ismail, who pummeled the ball into the net. In the 11 minutes of added time, Rafinha again set up a goal this time assisting al-Somah for his second goal of the match as Arabi players and supporters went into frenzy at the final whistle.
