Al Sadd Coach Aims to Reach AFC Champions League Final

Doha, September 14 (QNA) - Al Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez expressed his confidence in his team, ahead of the upcoming Group D clash against Al Ain on Matchday 3 of the AFC Champions League 2020. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Xavi said: "We are very excited to start. Al Sadd is at the top of the group. We have a lot of youngsters and experienced players as well. We are training well and we will forward to a strong start, in a competition that will be difficult for everyone," Al Sadd website reported. "I'm happy with the team's performance at the start of this season. In the last two editions of the Champions League, we reached the semi-finals, and everyone is dreaming of reaching the final. We are now playing at our home and this is good for us." As for the game, the coach said: "As I mentioned earlier, we are in a good period, but the Champions League is completely different and we will face Al Ain, which is also a different team from last season. They have a good coach and a lot of good local and foreign players, but we are ready to compete." Xavi added: "I feel very good. I'm a positive guy," adding, "We are winners, and we have many players who won many titles, but it doesn't mean anything. I know everyone is excited but we have to be calm, and go game by game, step by step." Regarding the change in the tournament format, Xavi said: "The tournament's new format is totally different. There will be a single knockout game after the group stage. We must be careful. Everybody must be ready and recover very fast." "We play every three days and it's tough for the players. But it's good for the competition and the fans. "We cannot rest too much between games, it's tough but fair for all teams. We must focus and avoid mistakes." Asked about Akram Afif's fitness, Xavi said: "All the players are ready, and Akram is in good condition. We are only missing Salem Al Hajri and Ali Asad, who need more time to recover from injury." Al Sadd defender Abdelkarim Hassan spoke of his readiness of his side ahead of their game against Al Ain on Matchday 3 of the 2020 AFC Champions League. Speaking during the pre-match press conference: "Our group is not easy, but Al Sadd is fully prepared and we hope to qualify as the group toppers. We'll take every match separately, as they come." The Al Sadd star added: "We have benefitted a lot from the resumption of the Qatari league and the early start to training, and this gives us more readiness than the rest of the teams." Abdelkarim promised the Al Sadd fans that the team will give their best, adding: "We aspire to be the best and hope for success from God. Certainly, we will miss the fans, we would love to have them even if they are only 20% (of the capacity) but most importantly, the game will be played on the pitch and we are ready for it." (QNA)