Qatar Sports Club unveil Czech Ivan Hasek as head coach for the coming season.
The Qatar Stars League has sprung to life early this year with the season due to start on August 21. The preseason training of the 14 Qatar Stars League clubs will start earlier and the players will not have a long summer break.
The early start to the season is due to the schedule of international competitions — Gulf Cup from November 13-26 and the Asian Cup in Australia in January 2015.
Sheikh Jassim Cup, played for by the winner of QSL and the winner of the Emir Cup, will take place on August 13. The one-off match will be played between Lekhwiya and Al Sadd this year.
Just after the Eid celebrations, all the clubs will travel to their respective camps for preseason training outside of Doha and will be back around August 15.
Another big moment on the Qatari football calendar will be the two matches on August 19 and 26 between Sadd and Saudi giants Al Hilal.
Al Sadd was the first team to start its preseason preparations as they look to be crowned champions of Asia.
Qatar SC reveal Hasek as coach
Qatar Sports Club held an official signing ceremony for their new head coach Ivan Hasek, with club chairman HE Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Nasser al-Thani, honorary member Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulaziz al-Thani and media co-ordinator Mosalam al-Hellabi in presence.
Club chairman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Nasser al-Thani said that it was a new chapter for the club and that he was happy to welcome Hasek. He said that the Czech was given a one-year deal with automatic renewal if he were to bring success to the club.
He added, “This is a man with great experience both in his playing days and now as a coach, his CV speaks for itself. He also has experience in the region having coached Al Ahli and Al Hilal.”
Coach Hasek thanked club chairman for the warm reception upon his arrival in Qatar, and the great support of the club staff and the team. He added that he hopes to achieve the desired success of the club and satisfy the fans.
He added, “This is a club that has big ambitions to achieve success, which is very important for me. We have set some targets including qualification for the Asian Champions League. I am optimistic after seeing the first training session with the players; they know what is expected of them.”
Kharaitiyat sign Fattah
Hassan Abdel Fattah has signed a one-season contract with Al Kharaitiyat. He joins defender Domigos, midfielder Anwar Diba and Senegalese Aasear Diar as the fourth foreign player at the club.
Fattah arrived last weekend to start negotiations with the club and the two sides came to an agreement on Saturday evening. Fattah is not a stranger to Qatar Stars League having played in the 2012-13 season but left due to injury.
Fattah will go to Aspetar for his medical before signing his contract agreement.
Sailiya to play friendlies
Al Sailiya Sports Club, who finished fourth in the league last season and were Emir Cup finalists, are set to play friendlies against the two newly-promoted teams ahead of the Qatar Stars League.
The two matches against Al Shahaniya and Al Shamal should help head coach Sami Trabelsi gauge the development of his youth players before flying out to Italy on July 24 for the club’s summer training camp.
Jaish set to leave for camp
2014 Qatar Cup Champions El Jaish Sports Club will leave Doha today for their training camp in Brazil. The camp will conclude on July 25.
The team had already started their pre-season training early because the new season will also kick-off sooner than usual on August 21.
After finishing second in the Qatar Stars League and managing to win the first edition of the Qatar Cup, the Army will be looking to go one better and be crowned champions next season.
Success in the Asian Champions League will also be on the radar for the club, who were knocked out of the competition in the dying seconds of their clash with Uzbek Champions Bunyodkor FC.
