+ A
A -
Al Duhail coach says his team's strategy got the desired result
IKOLI VICTOR
Doha
The Red Knights coach Djamel Belmadi admits leading Al Duhail to the Emir Cup title and completing a historic treble is phenomenal and the best feeling he's ever had.
Al Duhail completed a memorable season of three titles when they defeated Al Rayyan 2-1 in the Amir Cup final on Saturday, having already clinched the QNB Stars League and Qatar Cup earlier.
But the coach has done it with his team not losing even a single of their 22 domestic fixtures. This even stretched to the continent, where they have achieved eight straight wins in the on-going AFC Champions League to secure a quarter-final berth.
No wonder then, as Belmadi stood outside the mixed zone area with his two sons and daughter, he looked delighted and got into the swing of things like the full force of what they'd achieved about to hit him in his face.
He grinned:"We couldn't have asked for more this season after taking all the trophies in the different competitions. It's a phenomenal and the best feeling ever. From start to finish we expected the Emir Cup final to be a tough encounter. We knew Al Rayyan are a Champions League side and will pose us serious danger. But we had our strategy and won the game 2-1.
"Did I have any doubts? Duhail started the season with a defeat against Al Sadd in the Super Cup. One game cannot affect me; you win or lose. It was the beginning of the season and I remember the match precisely, it was kind of strange. I remember the statistics, we had 25 corner kicks and dominated the game but they had a few chances to score and they did, winning 4-2.
"I have always believed in the abilities of my players and they didn't disappoint."
Belmadi revealed that the injury to captain Youssef Msekni made him have a special talk with South Korean international Nam Tae-Hee.
"Nam and Msekni are the leaders in the attack of the team. Maybe Nam did less in terms of goals than last season but the injury to Msekni made us talk and I told him to take more responsibility in an attack."
Belmadi added that he may bring in some new players next season because there's still room for improvement.
"Everytime there is need to improve in the team. There are some young players coming up in the ranks and a player as Almoez still needs improvement and development. We can always get better and we'll see."
"This is a game that will always stay in my memory, because of that goal and also I played pretty well,"said an elated Boudiaf.
"We deserved the title and I feel very happy. Al Rayyan reached the final for the second straight time and put up a strong challenge. But we never panicked. Even though they scored an equaliser, we always believed in our ability to come back and score again,"said the Qatar international midfielder.
"This victory means that we have finished the season without losing a match in any of the big competitions.
"The secret of our string performance is that we have a very beautiful atmosphere in our team and a good understanding between the players,"said Boudiaf.
Al Duhail's Brazilian defender Lucas Mendes said:"The team is very happy and we can now rest a bit and wait for our opponents in the Champions League quarter-final draw."
Goalkeeper Amine Lecomte said:"We did our job. It is not easy to win a final but we did everything possible to win."
Describing his coach Belmadi, Lecomte said:"He's a leader and has the capacity to work to the maximum. He knows the players very well and knows how to push each player to succeed. He did massively this season."
