Former national team head coach guides a familiar group of players to a dramatic league title in his debut season.
Moments after the final whistle rang at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Akram Afif was all in for celebration. The talismanic forward first took time for some high-fives before receiving a t-shirt that in many ways captured his side’s journey to their 18th domestic league title, and their 80th overall.
“The Night of Hit Show!
Impossible become [sic] possible
Only with Al Sadd”
Not exactly impossible, but not many would have expected the Wolves to win the title in a season where setbacks came one after the other earlier on. Al Sadd ultimately dashed Al Duhail by two points — a slim margin compared to recent title charges.
“This season had its own flavour,” Afif said after the win. “Winning the league truly feels like a massive accomplishment—it’s the reward for a full season of effort.”
“It’s undoubtedly a special and memorable day in our journey this season, where we showed determination and hunger to win the title.”
The comeback
It started with an opening day loss against Al Shamal. Then came the 3-1 loss against Umm Salal, and then the nadir — the 5-1 drubbing against arch-rivals Al Duhail. For most, Al Sadd’s hopes of defending the title were close to done with three losses in five games under Felix Sanchez. Head coach Felix Sanchez’s sacking was demanded.
All of that and Al Sadd were the ones that lifted the iconic falcon seal on Saturday. The “night of hit show” was grand too: a 5-0 win against a surging Al Ahli side with their former player and coach, the legendary Barcelona midfielder Xavi, watching from the stands.
In what looked like a season that was Al Duhail’s to lose, the Ooredoo Stars League was guaranteed a rousing end when Al Sadd’s comeback win in the Qatar Clasico against Al Rayyan. The late shuffle in the table had put Al Sadd on top of the table with just two matches to go.
What was spellbinding was that Al Shamal, the side which had derailed Al Sadd’s campaign with a stunning 2-1 win in the first matchday, came back to do wonders for the now-champions. The side from the North’s 4-0 win over Al Duhail allowed the final turnover. Al Sadd pounced on the newfound momentum to complete the comeback story.
“Winning the league this season was a real challenge for us,” said captain Hassan Al-Haydos, who was one of the mainstays in head coach Sanchez’s national team set-up.
“As players, we pledged from the start of the season to defend our title. Claiming the shield wasn’t easy, especially after trailing behind the leaders for 20 rounds.”
An eye on Asia
A successful title defence will now predominantly shift Al Sadd’s focus to the AFC Champions League Elite. Felix Sanchez’s men are the only Qatari team left in the competition with the quarterfinals set to begin later this month.
Despite a shaky start domestically, the side maintained stellar performances to book a knockout berth in the continental tournament and then sidelined UAE’s Al Wasl to progress to the last eight. The side will now face Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale in the quarter finals.
“We have important upcoming challenges,” said goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham, who celebrated with the victory goggles, an act inspired by his brother and the most decorated Olympic high-jumper ever, Mutaz.
“Lifting this shield will be an extra motivation for us to achieve more in the future. From the start, our focus was to win the league. The team played as one unit with strong cohesion across all lines, and that helped us win the title.”
For now, the celebrations will go on before the continental action begins. Fair bit of expectation on head coach Sanchez, whose young Qatari side once captured imagination to lift the nation’s first-ever Asian Cup in 2019, will be to somehow bag the club’s first Asian glory since 2011.
