Rachid Tiberkanine has established himself as one of the best strikers in the QNB Stars League. He had showed his remarkable quality with Al Kharaitiyat before moving to Al Sailiya this season.
The Moroccan striker is one of the main players in the scheme of things of Tunisian coach Sami Trabelsi, whose belief in him is being strengthened further after every match.
In an exclusive interview with QSL Online, Tiberkanine, who scored both goals in Al Sailiya’s 2-0 victory over Al Arabi in Week 7 of the QNB Stars League, spoke about a wide range of topics.
He started off by saying Al Sailiya were doing well in the league despite strong competition from all clubs and that they were ready for the challenges as there’s close co-operation between the players, team management and technical staff.
“We knew from the beginning of this season that things won’t be easy. In order to achieve our targets, we must overcome all obstacles. Our past achievements will motivate us to move forward positively,” said Tiberkanine.
Al Sailiya are now third in the QNB Stars League table with 15 points, behind Al Sadd and Al Duhail. And Tiberkanine is the joint fourth-best scorer, along with Umm Salal’s Yannick Sagbo, on six goals.
Asked whether he longs to become the top scorer, he said, “Awards certainly motivate any player and encourage him to put up his best efforts. But for me, the most important thing is to serve my team and help it achieve the targets. I would also like to help the side win all games.”
Tiberkanine stressed Al Sailiya’s ambition this season was to finish among the top four.
“The competition is strong. We have been able to be in the top four now, but it is early to talk about the final standings. Al Sailiya have the potential to achieve the targets. The team has high-quality players as well as technical staff and the team management supports the players greatly.
“Our team is specially noted for team work and desire to produce our best in every game. I wish we get positive results in the upcoming matches,” he said.
The 33-year-old said he adapted fully with new team-mates and that he was happy to be in Al Sailiya, which is like one family.
“The atmosphere in the club is very good. We’re proud of what we’re doing and look forward to achieve more,” he said.
Tiberkanine also spoke about the game against Al Arabi.
“Despite winning, our performance wasn’t at the required level. The coach had stressed that in his post-match comments.
“We won’t show let-up in our efforts as the tournament progresses. We’ll fight to achieve our targets,” Tiberkanine concluded.
Source: qsl.qa