Domestic League DOHA: The new Qatari football season will kick off on September 13 and will be held in three round-robin stages, announced the Qatar Football Association (QFA) on Tuesday. The 2008-09 calendar released by the QFA will see the first phase run through September 13 till November 23 before phase two kicks in on November 27 to end on February 7, 2009. The final phase will start on February 12 and conclude on April 17. Ten teams will play for the title of league champions with each outfit playing 27 matches. The last team in the standings after three rounds will be relegated. The competition will be played at the seven stadiums of Al Sadd, Al Rayyan, Al Gharafa, Al Wakrah, Al Khor, Qatar SC, and Al Arabi. Al Gharafa won the title last season after pipping powerhouse Al Sadd into second place while Al Shamal were relegated and their place in the top division will now be taken up by Al Khuratiyat. LIST OF TEAMS IN QATAR LEAGUE 2008-09 Al Gharafa, Al Sadd, Umm Salal, Qatar SC, Al Rayyan, Al Arabi, Al Khor, Al Sailiyah, Al Wakrah and Al Khuratiyat Sheikh Jassem Cup Three goals from LuaLua, Mousa Haroun and Waleed Hamza settled a one-sided Sheikh Jassem Cup final on Tuesday as Al Arabi overpowered Al Rayyan 3-0 to claim their first trophy in eleven years. National Team WC Qualfiers 6th Sept Qatar - Uzbekistan (Al Sadd Stadium, Doha) 10th Sept Qatar - Bahrain (Al Sadd Stadium, Doha)
World Cup Qualification Results and Stats Qatar 3:0 Uzbekistan Goals:Majdi SIDDIQ (37')Magid HASSAN (73')Talal ALBLOUSHI (86') Disipline Yellow: Talal ALBLOUSHI (92')
Domestic League September Fixtures 13.09.2008 Al Sailiya - Al Rayyan 13.09.2008 Qatar SC - Al Khor 14.09.2008 Al Arabi (QAT) - Umm Salal 14.09.2008 Al Sadd - Al Kharitiyat 14.09.2008 Al Garrafa - Al Wakra 18.09.2008 Qatar SC - Al Sailiya 18.09.2008 Al Wakra - Al Sadd 19.09.2008 Umm Salal - Al Kharitiyat 19.09.2008 Al Rayyan - Al Khor 20.09.2008 Al Arabi (QAT) - Al Garrafa 25.09.2008 Al Kharitiyat - Al Wakra 25.09.2008 Al Arabi (QAT) - Al Khor 26.09.2008 Al Sailiya - Umm Salal 26.09.2008 Al Rayyan - Qatar SC 27.09.2008 Al Sadd - Al Garrafa
Qatar's national team is a disgrace to the beautiful game of football. They are a joke, and will not be respected by anyone regardless of the results they acheive. I sincerely hope they don't make it to the World Cup and make a joke of the honorable tournament. Among all football teams in the world I consider Qatar the least respectable.
I agree, but until FIFA do something about it, then the system will be open to abuse. So anyone can do it. But i think, yes the people who run the Qatari game are trying to be a world power, get themselves on the world stage, but once they get their, then they are not showing the world what Qatari's are about, they are showing the world, how easy it is to cheat to the top, at that point, we will then have other lesser powers trying the same thing. But also, i think it's not just the Qatari people to blame, but the foriegn guys who accept to play, even though they have never stepped into the country, or probably don't even know where it is. Now, i accept players who are not born their but maybe played in Qatar for 5 years or so, long enough to know about the culture, life style and have settled roots, but i cannot accept the players who just turn up, take the money and play. Surely, it can't mean much to them if they lose? After all it's not there country, but if they win, then they pocket more money. It's these guys who are ruining the game and cheating the paying spectator.
Domestic League Round One Results 13.09.2008 Al Sailiya 2 - 5 Al Rayyan 13.09.2008 Qatar SC 2 - 1 Al Khor 14.09.2008 Al Arabi (QAT) 1 - 3 Umm Salal 14.09.2008 Al Sadd 6 - 0 Al Kharitiyat 14.09.2008 Al Garrafa 3 - 1 Al Wakra All the usual suspects got good opening day victories. Looks like Umm Salal could have a say on title this year, the cup winners have made a good start against Al Arabi
Domestic League - Round 2 Results 18.09.2008 Qatar SC 1 - 1 Al Sailiya 18.09.2008 Al Wakra 1 - 2 Al Sadd 19.09.2008 Umm Salal 2 - 0 Al Kharitiyat 19.09.2008 Al Rayyan 2 - 1 Al Khor 20.09.2008 Al Arabi (QAT) 1 - 3 Al Garrafa Already a split between the big boys and the little boys in the league. Al Arabi are struggling, losing both opening games at home 3-1. They have gone a bit backwards since winning the Sheikh Jassem Cup. Umm Salal left it late to beat Al Kharitiyat, they scored twice in the final 10 minutes after going down to 10 men. Round 3 kicks off on 25th Sept, but the big match is Al Sadd - Al Garrafa which is on 27th.
Al Arabi is already under big pressure, since their stated goal is to win the league, whereas they lost their first 2 games (and at home). Al Gharafa has got one hell of a potential...impressive team with Hakan Yakin, Fernandao, Nashat Akram, Marconi, Clemerson, Anas Mubarak...all cards are in their hand to win the league this year again.
http://www.kooora.com/default.aspx?showarticle=41441&obj=0 Fosati resigns for personal health reasons.Former UAE coach Bruno Metsu is the most likely replacement
Seem's it was written like a book. If Metsu gets the job, hopefully it will spark them to South Africa. But funny how he can quit one nation that is failing and join one that is currently on a high.
From the Qatar website: http://en.qfa.com.qa/topics/index.asp?level=4&version=1&temp_type=42&item_no=1471&temp_id=346 Qatar football association has officially terminated the contract of Uruguayan Jorge Fossati as the national team coach. Chairman Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani announced on Tuesday. Fossati's departure was based on mutual consent, especially with the 56 year-old facing serious health problems escalating to see him going under the knife last week, he stated "am aware of how difficult the situation is right now, as a coach; I had no tolerance what so ever with any player who is not 100% ready, the same goes for me". Meanwhile, Sheikh Hamad said that the identity of the new head coach will be unveiled soon; he noted that Frenchman bruno metsu is so far the most probable option to take the job.
National Team - New Coach DOHA: France's Bruno Metsu, who resigned as United Arab Emirates coach at the weekend, was on Thursday named as boss of the Qatar national team. The two-year contract was signed by Metsu in the presence of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Thani, the president of the Qatar football federation, during a press conference with other high-ranking Qatari sports officials. Qatar have little time to waste in preparing for their third match in the final phase of Asian 2010 World Cup qualifiers in Australia on October 15. Metsu knows Qatari football well having coached first division club Al-Garafah in the 2004/05 season. Metsu resigned as UAE coach on Sunday because of poor results and was replaced on Thursday by compatriot Dominique Bathenay. The 54-year-old Metsu had been coach of UAE since June 2006 and won the Gulf Nations Cup in January 2007. Previously Metsu had been Senegal coach, leading them to the quarter-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals in Korea Republic and Japan. http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168132611.html
Domestic League Round 3 Results 25.09.2008 Al Kharitiyat 1 - 3 Al Wakra 25.09.2008 Al Arabi (QAT) 0 - 1 Al Khor 26.09.2008 Al Sailiya 0 - 1 Umm Salal 26.09.2008 Al Rayyan 3 - 2 Qatar SC 27.09.2008 Al Sadd 2 - 1 Al Garrafa Al Arabi continue to struggle, to say they wanted to be title contenders this year, they will be lucky to make to top half, still pointless after 3 games. Al Sadd, Al Rayyan and Umm Salal all have 100% records
Domestic League October Fixtures 03.10.2008 Al Khor - Umm Salal 03.10.2008 Al Wakra - Al Sailiya 03.10.2008 Qatar SC - Al Sadd 04.10.2008 Al Garrafa - Al Kharitiyat 04.10.2008 Al Rayyan - Al Arabi (QAT) 18.10.2008 Al Kharitiyat - Al Rayyan 18.10.2008 Al Wakra - Qatar SC 18.10.2008 Al Sailiya - Al Arabi (QAT) 19.10.2008 Al Sadd - Al Khor 19.10.2008 Al Garrafa - Umm Salal 23.10.2008 Al Sailiya - Al Kharitiyat 23.10.2008 Al Wakra - Al Khor 24.10.2008 Umm Salal - Qatar SC 24.10.2008 Al Rayyan - Al Garrafa 25.10.2008 Al Arabi (QAT) - Al Sadd 30.10.2008 Al Sadd - Al Sailiya 30.10.2008 Al Wakra - Al Arabi (QAT) 31.10.2008 Qatar SC - Al Kharitiyat 31.10.2008 Umm Salal - Al Rayyan
Domestic League Round 4 Results 03.10.2008 Al Khor 1 - 1 Umm Salal 03.10.2008 Al Wakra 3 - 1 Al Sailiya 03.10.2008 Qatar SC 2 - 1 Al Sadd 04.10.2008 Al Garrafa 2 - 0 Al Kharitiyat 04.10.2008 Al Rayyan 1 - 2 Al Arabi (QAT) Al Arabi got a much needed win to take them of the bottom and ease the pressure a little bit. Al Kharitiyat are struggling in their debut season in the top flight, but do have a couple of strong additions to their squad, so hopefully will improve before they get left behind. Umm Salal are the new leaders on 10 points, followed by Al Sadd, Al Garrafa and Al Rayyan on 9.
Umm Salal may not be a star-studded team, but they play like no other team in the league. It's really pleasant to see them play, with smart playmakers like Lamouchi, Fabio Cesar, and a neat striker like Magno Alves. Good job there!
Check this site http://www.algharafa.com/site/topics/index.asp?cu_no=1&temp_type=44 I can't read Arabic, but i guess if its true then it will tell you on there. Coach as far as i am aware is Brazilian Marcos Paqueta.
Mmm I didnt hear about that, but it seems that Younis Mahmoud is leaving Al Gharafa for France... Grenoble line up Mahmud bid French side Grenoble Foot 38 tabled an offer to attract Al Gharafa's Iraqi forward Younis Mahmud, Al Gharafa club announced. Mahmud has for several years been regarded as one of the brightest young talents in Asia, making him constantly approached by clubs in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Grenoble's head coach Mr. Mehmed Baždarević, has a prior knowledge of Mahmud's attacking abilities; the Bosnian served in QSL side Al Wakra during the same time which saw Mahmud winning Qatar's top-scorer title two years ago.
thanks well....this isnt the first time stuff like this happend and everyone know how it turns out to be...but good luck for him (no Jinx )
2nd Division Cup Final Al Jaish 4 - 2 Al Shurta Two extra-time goals were enough to secure a 4-2 victory for Al Jaish over Al Shurta in the 2008/2009 2nd division cup final at Suhaim bin Hamad stadium. The best two teams in division 2 – so far - produced a game that is likely to live long in the memory. Al Shurta's Kieta was sent off in the dying minutes of the match over a harsh tackle. http://en.qfa.com.qa/topics/index.a...sion=1&temp_id=350&temp_type=42&parent_id=345