Sneijder in Doha to join Gharafa

Doha: Dutch star Wesley Sneijder reached Doha late on Saturday night tosign for QNB Stars League side Al Gharafa. The attacking midfielder wasreceived at the Hamad International Airport by Al Gharafa’s FootballHead Mahmoud al-Ghazal, Deputy Head and former player Saad al-Shammari,Team Manager Fahad Ali and Media Officer Taha al-Muhaza.Sneijder passed his medical at Qatar’s orthopaedic and sports medicinehospital Aspetar yesterday. After signing the deal, he will be presentedby the club at a press conference today. Sneijder, a three-time WorldCupper and UEFA Champions League winner with Inter Milan in 2010, willbe the biggest star to descend on Doha in the current winter transferwindow. His arrival has delighted the Al Gharafa fans and their joyknows no bounds.Al Gharafa had recently handed the coaching reins to Turk Bulent Uygun,replacing Frenchman Jean Fernandez. Sneijder represented Ajax Amsterdamfrom 2002 to 2007 and Real Madrid from 2007 to 2009 before moving toInter Milan (2009 to 2013). He then had a stint with Turkish clubGalatasaray till early 2017 and moved to Nice before joining the AlGharafa ranks.He played 133 times for the Netherlands, making him the country’s mostcapped player. The 33-year-old’s first appearance may be on 12th Januarywhen Al Gharafa, seventh in the standings with 11 points, travel to AlAhli in the QNB Stars League’s Week 12.Al Sadd quartet returns to trainingAl Sadd players Saad al-Dossari, Hassan al-Haydous, Musab Kheder andPedro Miguel, who did duty for Qatar at the recent Gulf Cup in Kuwait,joined the team’s training on Saturday.Al Sadd, second in the QNB Stars League standings with 27 points, hostpromoted and bottom-placed side Al Markhiya in Week 12 on 13th January.The players trained under Portuguese coach Jesualdo Ferreira withoutAlgerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah, who is still recuperating from aninjury.