Gulf Times
Al Sadd continued their preparation for Tuesday’s AFC Champions League opener against Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr yesterday. The team will have a final training session today at the club’s training ground before they take off to Riyadh in the evening.
New signing, Mexican midfielder Marco Fabian, who joined the Wolves until the end of the current season took part in the training session. However, Fabian will not travel to Riyadh as he is not registered as part of the AFC Champions League squad. The squad list sees Salem al-Hajri miss out due to injury, while Abdelkarim Hassan will not play due to suspension.
Al Sadd was last seen in action on Thursday when they beat Al Kharaitiyat in the round of 16 of the Amir Cup. The main group of players who had played the Kharaitiyat match had a recovery session, while the rest of the team engaged in technical exercises, that included both offensive and defensive aspects. Meanwhile, Al Duhail will also be in action on Tuesday when they take on Iranian giants Perspolis in a Group C match at home.
Hilal’s Asian success spurs on local rivals
When Al Hilal last year became the first club from Saudi Arabia to win the Asian Champions League since 2005, they not only ended their nation’s 14-year title drought, they reignited their rivalry with cross-Riyadh rivals Al Nassr.
As the latest edition of Asia’s premier club competition kicks off on Monday, amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus in China and elsewhere in the continent’s east, teams in the west go into the group phase with a renewed sense of optimism following Al Hilal’s resounding win a little more than two months ago.
The Saudi side’s success, which came with a victory over Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds in November’s final, was the first by a team from their half of the continent since 2011. The manner in which it was achieved has increased the expectation of further success for teams from the Gulf region.
Al Hilal begin the defence of their title against Iran’s Shahr Khodro on Monday evening, while 24 hours later bitter rivals Al Nassr will be looking to make a statement of intent as they launch their attempt to win the competition for the first time with a Tuesday fixture against Qatar’s Al Sadd — who lost to Al Hilal in last year’s semi-finals.
Al Nassr brings a strong pedigree into the competition, having won the Saudi league title last season. Moroccan striker Abderazzak Hamdallah will lead the charge for coach Rui Vitoria’s side, with the former Guangzhou R&F forward’s strike rate of 49 goals in 34 games in Al Nassr’s domestic title win sure to cause opposing defences significant concern.
Al Nassr will be looking to make an impact on the continental scene for the first time since winning the Asian Cup Winners Cup in 1998, but face a tricky group after also being drawn to face Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates and Iran’s Sepahan.
South Korea duo Jeonbuk Motors and Ulsan Hyundai, both former winners, will carry the main threat in the eastern half of the draw.