Al Gharafa take on Al Rayyan in a much-anticipated encounter in Week 9 of the QNB Stars League, which returns after a fortnight-long break due to international commitments.
Al Gharafa defeated Al Arabi 3-0, while Al Rayyan crashed to a 0-1 defeat to Al Khor in Week.
In an exclusive interview with QSL Online, Al Gharafa’s Portuguese midfielder Diogo Amado gives his takes on a variety of topics ahead of their game against Al Gharafa on Saturday, 20th October.
What do you say about your game against Al Rayyan?
It’s going to be a difficult game. They’ve some very good players who can change the tide of a game. But we’re focusing on our job. We’ve to get ready for any situation.
What’re your expectations of this game?
We seek victory against Al Rayyan. For that matter, we want to win against all teams. It won’t change just because it’s Al Rayyan.
Al Gharafa had recorded a big victory over Al Rayyan in the second leg last season. Will you be able to repeat that feat?
The score doesn’t matter. We just want to win the game. Even if it’s 1-0, we will get three points. It’ll give us more confidence. Every game is a different story.
What’re the strengths and weaknesses of Al Gharafa and Al Rayyan?
Of course, we’ve some outstanding players. The same with Al Rayyan also. It’s an amazing team. I wouldn’t prefer to talk about the teams’ weaknesses.
Who’s the Al Rayyan player you respect the most?
Everybody knows that they’ve some amazing players. But I think we should be more wary of (Rodrigo) Tabata. He’s a superb player. We must also be wary of other players.
How do you see the match from the coaches’ point of view?
It’s a special game for both coaches. (Christian) Gourcuff had coached Al Gharafa in the past. On the other hand, Al Rayyan are under Bulent (Uygun), who was with us last season. He did a good job with Umm Salal too. So it’ll be a battle for tactical supremacy as well.
What’s your message to Bulent?
We’ll be happy to shake hands with him. But during the 90 minutes of play, we’ll be opponents, though not enemies. We’ll again be good friends after those 90 minutes.
Bulent knows most of the Al Gharafa players? Will it make a difference?
Of course, he knows most of the players. But I don’t think that’ll make any difference. At this age and with today’s technology as well as statistics, it’s easy to get the details of any team or player.
What’re your expectations of Al Gharafa in this season’s QNB Stars League?
We’ve high expectations. We know how we finished in the QNB Stars League last season. It wasn’t easy to finish fourth. We’re working more harder and I wish we finish among the top four this time as well.
What’re your realistic chances of finishing among the top four?
All our players have the desire to achieve that. Not only me, but all players have the burning desire to fulfil that ambition. Despite suffering some setbacks, we hope we can make it happen this season too.
What’re your personal goals?
It’s the same like last year. Sometimes, you’ve bad games. I always give off my best. I’m just doing that while representing this club. The results also depend on the opponents. I promise I’ll continue to give off my best.
Can Al Gharafa win a title this season?
Of course, yes. Last season, we expected that, but we could finish only fourth. We were so bad in a position by the middle of the league. Yet, we did well.
Nobody expected Al Gharafa to win the QSL Cup, which we lifted by beating Al Rayyan in the final.
Source: qsl.qa