How did Qatari football find itself in such dire state?

How did Qatari football find itself in such dire state?
Qatar's forward Almoez Ali (3rd-L) with his team during the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 quarter final football match between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates at the Al-Bayt Stadium in the Qatari city of Al-Khor on December 10, 2021.(AFP)
Short Url
Updated 15 March 2023

How did Qatari football find itself in such dire state?

How did Qatari football find itself in such dire state?
  • While the national team remains champions of Asia, the 2022 World Cup hosts have suffered a wretched time recently both at international and club level

Riyadh: Given the seemingly desperate state of Qatari football at the moment, it is worth remembering one thing — they are still Asian champions.

The fact they were crowned champions of Asia just over four years ago, and yet now are seemingly staring into the abyss, shows how quickly things have unraveled for last year’s World Cup hosts.

As if the embarrassment of their performances on the biggest stage was not bad enough, the sour taste lingered when several players, headlined by former Asian player of the year, Abdelkarim Hassan, were suspended by the Qatar Football Association for issues related to the World Cup camp.

That was followed by Al-Duhail’s 7-0 humiliation at the hands of Al-Hilal in the AFC Champions League semi-final. The exclamation point was put on a miserable few months when the national under-20 side bowed out of the AFC U20 Asian Cup without winning a game, capitulating to Australia 9-1 in their final group game.

How did things get so bad?

Fouad El-Fdil, a former coach and scout at Aspire Academy, told Arab News: “Until the Asian Cup, that we won in 2019, I think we had a beautiful development.

“But, after that, it feels like we didn’t have a new plan for five or 10 years to keep developing and to keep pushing forward.

“Of course, I understand that the budget is under pressure, especially with the World Cup coming, and after the World Cup we all knew that things would go down a little bit. But having a plan is more important than having a big budget. It all starts with a plan.

“And also, you need to refresh your national team. You need new, ambitious, and hungry players to refresh the national team.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t see, and I didn’t feel like there was a clear plan for how to keep feeding the national team with new talents,” he said.

Recent results at youth level — they also bombed out of last year’s AFC U23 Asian Cup without winning a game — would suggest that perhaps there is a dearth of talent coming through, but El-Fdil refutes that.

“In my opinion, and in my experience, there was absolutely no lack of talent and no lack of potential.

“I would say the opposite, there is enough talent and enough potential. I would even go a step further; the 2003, 2004, and 2005 generations may be the best generations we ever had in Aspire Academy.

“I’ve worked with all three generations so I can speak from experience, and I can tell you that in this generation there are some very good players.

“If you look at Mubarak Shenan, Ahmed Al-Rawi, Rashed Al-Abdullah, Saifeldeen Fadlalla, they have some fantastic players.

“That’s the reason I was shocked, I couldn’t believe that this generation would leave the Asian Cup with zero points because I had high expectations, and I expected them to compete for a title,” El-Fdil added.

While results at national team level shine a light on the football ecosystem, they are simply a manifestation of what sits below it at club level, and it is here that El-Fdil, who spent time working as the sporting director at Al-Gharafa, pinpoints the real cracks in the Qatari system.

Now working at NAC Breda in the Netherlands, he said: “The QSL (Qatar Stars League) launched a plan and said they want to make it a more entertaining league.

“But what we are seeing now is that we have full stadiums in Saudi Arabia, and even full stadiums in the UAE, but we don’t see full stadiums in Qatar. I think after the World Cup it looks like there is no clear follow up on how to develop the league and how to develop academies.”

Last year, Ahmed Abbassi, the QSL’s executive director of competitions and football development, told “The Asian Game” podcast that he wanted the QSL to become a talent nursery; a steppingstone for talent before venturing to Europe.

While noble in its intent, making it a reality is proving difficult as clubs continue to prioritize experienced foreigners, which they turn over in unsustainably high numbers.

He said: “One of the points that I’ve always raised, even when I was at Al-Gharafa, is that the foundation is the level of your local players.

“Because you can always replace your coach, and you can always replace your foreign players. You’ve seen it in the last few years; they come in, they go out, and some of them have big experience.

“At Al-Gharafa we had the Mexican captain, Hector Moreno, and in the QSL he was suffering. Is it because of Hector, or is it because of the league and the players around him, and the way we play football?

“So, what I felt is that sometimes we sign big players, but they end up in a situation where they cannot help the team because of the level of the local players.”

El-Fdil cited disagreements he had with the hierarchy at Al-Gharafa over the reluctance to give more playing time to younger players, which he argued would have longer-term benefits.

“I think what’s lacking is a long-term vision. It’s always something you have in the first team; in the short term you need to win the next game, but at the same time, you need to invest in the long term and you need to make sure that the players, especially the talented players you have in your club, you give them playing time and make sure you have a plan to develop them.

“Because at the end, the foundation is the level of local players. You can change the foreigners all the time, but it will not solve the problem. The level of the local players, you need to raise this level and you need to have a clear plan for this,” El-Fdil added.


IOC’s Bach defends Russia stance amid pro-Ukraine protest

IOC’s Bach defends Russia stance amid pro-Ukraine protest
Updated 18 sec ago

IOC’s Bach defends Russia stance amid pro-Ukraine protest

IOC’s Bach defends Russia stance amid pro-Ukraine protest
  • Bach said he opposed political influence on sports and any suggestion that Russians should be treated as if they have “collective guilt”

ESSEN, Germany: International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach defended his organization’s efforts to create a pathway for Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to competition in a speech in his home country of Germany which took place amid a pro-Ukraine protest Wednesday.

Bach reiterated the IOC’s position that it would be discriminatory to exclude Russians and Belarusians based on citizenship alone and argued the Olympics can help promote dialogue at a tense time. Public broadcaster WDR reported nearly 200 pro-Ukraine protesters gathered outside the venue calling for Russia to be excluded entirely from the Olympics.

The IOC recommended excluding Russia and Belarus on safety grounds soon after the invasion last year but now argues for letting the two countries’ athletes compete as neutrals without national symbols ahead of a packed calendar of qualification events for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Bach said he opposed political influence on sports and any suggestion that Russians should be treated as if they have “collective guilt.” The Olympics, he added, need to remain neutral to be a unifying force.

The IOC previously said it wants to keep out athletes deemed to be “actively supporting the war,” with a final decision lying with the international federations running individual sports, but it has given few details of how that would work.

Bach refined that approach Wednesday, indicating the IOC could recommend barring athletes who pose with a “Z” symbol, a marking used on Russian military vehicles which has become a symbol of support for the war.

“Our principles say clearly and distinctly that any active support for the war, and that includes wearing this ‘Z’, that includes posts and much else besides (is prohibited). Anyone who supports the war in this way cannot, or in relation to the international federations, since we are issuing this only as a recommendation, should not take part in these competitions,” Bach said.

Asked about what to do with the many Russian athletes who are part of the military or have ties to military organizations, Bach indicated the IOC could decide on its approach at a board meeting next week.

“Wait until the middle of next week. I am confident that we will come up with appropriate guidelines then,” he said.


On eve of record, Ronaldo a ‘better man’ after United ordeal

On eve of record, Ronaldo a ‘better man’ after United ordeal
Updated 10 min ago

On eve of record, Ronaldo a ‘better man’ after United ordeal

On eve of record, Ronaldo a ‘better man’ after United ordeal
  • Ronaldo said he is motivated and enjoying his time back with Portugal’s national team after a disappointing World Cup

LISBON: Cristiano Ronaldo, on the eve of becoming the player with the most appearances with a national team in men’s soccer, said his difficult second spell with Manchester United made him a better man.

Ronaldo opened up briefly about his troubles at the English club ahead of Portugal’s match against Liechtenstein in qualifying for the European Championship on Thursday, when he is set to break the all-time record for appearances with a national team with 197.

“There is no time for regrets in this life. Even if we don’t do so well, it’s part of our life,” Ronaldo said Wednesday. “When we are at the top of the mountain, it’s hard to see what’s down here and many times I couldn’t. I feel like I’m better prepared now because I can see some things. I’m a better man now.”

The 38-year-old Ronaldo joined Saudi club Al Nassr after his contract was terminated by United following a TV interview in which he criticized manager Erik ten Hag and the club’s owners after being benched and even temporarily suspended by the club.

“I think that everything in life happens for a reason,” he said. “I’m often grateful to go through some difficult things so I can see who is really on my side. At the tough times, you see who is on your side. It wasn’t a very good phase in my life, in my career, first on a personal level and then professionally.”

Ronaldo said he is motivated and enjoying his time back with Portugal’s national team after a disappointing World Cup in which he was benched in the knockout rounds and left the field in tears after a loss to Morocco in the quarterfinals. He came off the bench in that match to tie Bader Al-Mutawa’s mark of 196 outings for Kuwait.

He is expected to break the record on Thursday as new Portugal coach Roberto Martínez said he still counts on the star forward.

“This record is special. I’ll be really proud if it happens,” Ronaldo said. “But I want to keep playing even more games, I don’t want to stop here.”

Ronaldo admitted there were doubts about his future with the national team, but that’s all in the past now.

“It was all in the balance after the World Cup,” he said. “I reflected with my family and then we came to the conclusion that it was not time to throw in the towel. I learned a lot from it and I’m very happy to be back.”


Lazio fan wearing ‘Hitlerson’ shirt among 3 banned for life

Lazio fan wearing ‘Hitlerson’ shirt among 3 banned for life
Updated 22 March 2023

Lazio fan wearing ‘Hitlerson’ shirt among 3 banned for life

Lazio fan wearing ‘Hitlerson’ shirt among 3 banned for life
  • Two other fans of the Roman club were also banned for life for performing Roman salutes
  • Lazio said the three fans “have nothing to do" with supporting the club and “have shown forms of discrimination and antisemitism”

ROME: A fan wearing a shirt with a reference to Adolf Hitler was banned for life from attending Lazio matches by the Roman club on Wednesday.
Authorities reviewed security camera footage from inside the Stadio Olimpico after pictures of the fan wearing a Lazio shirt with the name “Hitlerson” and the No. 88 — which is a numerical code for “Heil Hitler” — circulated on social media following Lazio’s 1-0 win over Roma in the city derby on Sunday.
Two other fans of the Roman club were also banned for life for performing Roman salutes, which are associated with fascism.
Lazio said the three fans “have nothing to do” with supporting the club and “have shown forms of discrimination and antisemitism.”
The Italian league is still reviewing the behavior of Lazio fans during the derby.
The club were already ordered to play a game with part of the Stadio Olimpico closed to spectators after fans directed racist chants at Lecce defender Samuel Umtiti and winger Lameck Banda, who are both Black.
Lazio fans have a long history of discriminatory behavior and the club have been hit with numerous sanctions both in Serie A and Europe.
Lazio are in second place in Serie A and in position to qualify for next season’s Champions League.


Roshn Saudi League stars square off in international arena

Roshn Saudi League stars square off in international arena
Updated 22 March 2023

Roshn Saudi League stars square off in international arena

Roshn Saudi League stars square off in international arena
  • Portuguese legend and Al-Nassr striker Cristiano Ronaldo will face Al-Wehda and Luxembourg striker Gerson Rodriguez
  • Morocco’s Abdelrazzaq Hamdallah and Mounir Al-Mohammadi will face Peru’s Andre Carrillo and Christopher Gonzalez

RIYADH: Six foreign stars of the Roshn Saudi League are expected to line out against each other in two international matches at the end of March. 

Portugal play Luxembourg on March 26 in the first round of qualifiers for Euro 2024, bringing together Portuguese legend and Al-Nassr striker Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Wehda striker Gerson Rodriguez, who will line out in the colors of Luxembourg. 

Four foreign players from the Roshn Saudi League will play in a friendly match between Morocco and Peru on March 29.

Abdelrazzaq Hamdallah of Al-Ittihad and Mounir Al-Mohammadi of Al-Wehda will line out for Morocco, while Andre Carrillo of Al-Hilal and Christopher Gonzalez from Al-Adalah will face them in the colours of Peru.


Former Germany midfielder Mesut Özil retires at 34

Former Germany midfielder Mesut Özil retires at 34
Updated 22 March 2023

Former Germany midfielder Mesut Özil retires at 34

Former Germany midfielder Mesut Özil retires at 34
  • Özil said injuries played a role in his decision
  • His immediate retirement brings an early end to his season with Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir

ISTANBUL: Former Germany midfielder Mesut Özil, who won the World Cup in 2014, retired from soccer Wednesday at the age of 34.
Özil said injuries played a role in his decision.
“I’ve had the privilege to be a professional football player for almost 17 years now and I feel incredibly thankful for the opportunity,” Özil wrote on social media. “But in recent weeks and months, having also suffered some injuries, it’s become more and more clear that it’s time to leave the big stage of football.”
His immediate retirement brings an early end to his season with Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir, where he made only seven appearances for the team.
Özil won the Spanish league title with Real Madrid in 2012 and the FA Cup four times with Arsenal. His international career ended abruptly in 2018 when he quit the Germany squad citing “racism and disrespect.”
That followed anti-Turkish comments from German politicians and abuse from some fans toward Özil, who has Turkish heritage, amid criticism of his decision to pose for a picture with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup.
Özil started his career in Germany with hometown club Schalke before a good spell at Werder Bremen earned him a spot on the German national team. Standout performances for Germany at the 2010 World Cup were followed by a move to Madrid. He then had an eight-year stint with Arsenal.
Özil moved to Turkish club Fenerbahce in 2021 after his relationship with Arsenal broke down. He was left out of the Arsenal squad for months before his departure following a rift with manager Mikel Arteta. The club also distanced itself from Özil for posting his support for Muslims in the Xinjiang province of China, comments which led to an Arsenal game being pulled from Chinese television.