Al Sadd drew 2-2 with Raja Club Athletic of Morocco in a friendly match at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Friday. The match was part of Sadd’s preparation for the King Salman Club Championship, which will be held in Saudi Arabia, and for the new season.
Sadd have just returned from an overseas training camp at Seefeld in Austria and played the friendly under their new Portuguese coach Bruno Miguel Pinheiro, who took over from Spaniard Juan Manuel Lillo ‘Juanma’.
Yesterday, Sadd opened the scoring in the 29th minute through Hassan al-Haydos, before the Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah added the second goal in the 33rd minute.
In the second half, Abdullah Khafifi pulling a goal back for Moroccans with a header in the 55th minute. Raja equalised in the 68th minute through midfielder Yousry Bouzoukas as the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
Sadd started the match with Mishaal Barshim, Khokhi Boualem, Tariq Salman, Pedro Miguel, Hassan al-Haydos, Musab Khader, Ahmed Sayyar, Mateus Uribe, Akram Afif, Baghdad Bounedjah and Giovanni Henrique.
The substitutes were: Ahmed al-Saeed, Saad al-Dosari, Mohamed Amin Hazbawi, Ali Asad, Mustafa Tariq, Abdullah al-Yazidi and Hashem Ali.
Ahead of the match, Sadd unveiled their new signings – Brazilian duo Paulo Ottavio and Giovanni Henrique, Iran’s Mohamed Amin Hazbawi and Mateus Uribe of Colombia – at a press conference, which was attended by Turki Nasser al-Ali, General Manager of the club; Mohamed Ghanem al-Ali, Head of the Football Authority; and Mohamed Ghulam al-Balushi, Sports Director.
Al-Ali said: “We wish all players success and provide the best levels to contribute to achieving victories and winning titles for Sadd. Last season, the team played seven matches in the absence of many key players and despite that we were able to compete for the title. We promise our fans to compensate for what happened last season and win titles.”
Left-back Paulo Ottavio, who moved to Sadd from German club Wolfsburg, said: “I am happy to join Al Sadd Club and I will try to provide my best in the coming period.”
For his part, Iranian defender Amin Hazbawi said: “Al Sadd Club is one of the big clubs, and I seek to win championships with them.”
Colombian Mateus Uribe expressed his happiness at his move to Sadd, stressing his determination to fulfil the great aspirations of his fans and win possible titles.
Brazilian Giovanni Henrique, who joined from Palmeiras, also expressed his hope to lead his new club to great victories, and to appear strongly during the upcoming continental competitions. The 19-year-old added: “My contract with Al Sadd came with the aim of winning championships and highlighting my capabilities with the team, whether in the local or continental championships, and I hope that I will be able to realise all these ambitions with Al Sadd.”
The Brazilian player, who plays in the right-back position, concluded his remarks: “Without a doubt, I aspire to play in European leagues, but my goal at the present time is to achieve championships and do my best to achieve the best levels in Qatar.”