Qatar League Coaches Seek Perfect Start to New Season

Doha, September 03 (QNA) - The Qatari League coaches are looking to capture the first three points of the new football season of the 2020-2021 QNB Stars League, which starts on Friday. Al Wakrah coach Marquez Lopez spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 1 match against Al Ahli. "The new season will be more difficult than the previous season, especially for Al Wakrah, because after finishing in the sixth place last season, our ambitions are higher this time around. "My team is ready for the opening confrontation against Al Ahli. I can confirm that the preparations for this match went off like as we do for the rest of the games. We have three new players in the team. "All matches are not the same, obviously because of so many factors. We must do our best to get a good start to the league championship. I think all members of the team have great determination to put up utmost efforts so that we can maintain the good image that we had last season," said Marquez. While, Al Ahli coach Nebojsa Jovovic said, "It will be difficult for both teams, but I am focusing on my team to prepare it in physical, technical, mental and tactical aspects to achieve a positive result. Al Wakrah, as we found out recently in the second leg of last seasons league, is a good team, but what matters is that it varies from one match to another due to the changes that may occur. "We are working on the physical and mental aspects of players, and are focused on developing performance. Now at the beginning of the season, we are looking forward to achieve a positive result through good performance, which is mainly related to the physical and mental performance of players and their readiness to provide the best. "We must mention the efforts made by the Qatar Football Association and Qatar Stars League to create ideal conditions for clubs by playing in airconditioned stadiums at a difficult time for everyone during the last season. But now, it seems natural to play at non-airconditioned stadiums. The weather may affect, but the impact will be same on both teams. I am confident of the ability of my players to achieve a positive result. We will be playing on our home turf and that gives great motivation to the players," Nebojsa added. Umm Salal coach Aziz Ben Askar spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 1 match against Al Duhail. "We realise that we are facing the champion team of last season. At the same time, we must do a great job, something like what we were doing in the last two months, but this is the case of all teams in this special season. "Nothing much has changed for us and we continue our work in order to be ready to fight. We are aware of the difficulty of the upcoming matches. "For us, things are the same in terms of work and team spirit, and we are working well, so we will be ready for the confrontation. "We prepare the players for all situations that can arise in the match and everyone wants to play for victory. We know our goal and we have to be smart in all matches. "As for the next match, it will not be easy against the best team. Besides, the league games, Al Duhail will also be preparing for the AFC Champions League. We are working very well to come out with a positive result and have made some changes to inject new blood into the team to help us," said Ben Askar. Al Duhail coach Walid Regragui said "We are going to have a difficult match against Umm Salal, whom we faced when the league resumed last season with Week 18. That game was difficult and ended in a 1-1 draw. This time, we will fight without any pressure, as happened in the previous match. "Edmilson Junior, Mehdi Benatia and Karim Boudiaf are nursing injuries and we do not know how ready they will be for this match. So is Yousef Msakni and we do not want to risk any player. This match may be an opportunity for some other players as we have proved in many games. "We are the team that all sides are looking to beat because we are the reigning champions, but we have to play the match with the aim of achieving victory without considering the injuries and making excuses. The players have to give off what is required of them and it may also be a test for the group as a whole. "In the coming period, we will play in the AFC Champions League. There will be a match every three days and the players will certainly be exhausted, so we must be prepared for all possibilities," said Regragui. (QNA)