Doha: Al Rayyan fell short of silverware in the previous season finishing runners-up in the Qatar Stars League and the Qatar Cup, but new coach Poya Asbaghi is confident the Lions are better equipped to lay hands on the trophies this season. The Swedish coach, who succeeded Portuguese Leonardo Jardim, said his team is ready for a strong start to the new season as they will begin the top flight – rebranded as the Ooredoo Stars League (OSL) – with the opening match against Umm Salal at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium this evening. Al Rayyan underwent extensive pre-season preparations setting up a training camp in the Netherlands where they also played several friendly matches.
“We are coming from a good preparation for the season. It will be a challenging start for us as Umm Salal are difficult opponents. They are a good team in defence and dangerous in counterattacks,” Asbaghi said on the eve of the OSL opener.
Ahead of the new season, Al Rayyan signed Spaniard David Garcia and Belgian Julien De Sart with coach saying his side has all the ingredients to do well. “Our team ranks are almost complete and we have a good list of players before facing Umm Salal. This season we have to compete for titles,” he said.
Umm Salal were impressive in the last season finishing at impressive seventh spot after some stunning results, with coach Patrice Carteron hoping to continue the momentum. “Let us hope that this season we have the same quality to achieve that. It will be a strong and d.