Foreigners key for Al Sadd

Al Sadd boss Jorge Fossati admits his side’s lack of international experience means his foreign stars have a big role to play at the Club World Cup.

The 2011 Asian champions will be the first Qatari team to compete in a major senior international FIFA tournament when they take part in the Japan event which begins on Thursday.

Al Sadd will face African champions Esperance in their quarter-final on Sunday and Fossati said that his team’s inexperience, with most of his squad playing their careers solely in Asia, would be a major challenge to overcome.

“When you’re a coach you need to be able to adapt to the qualities of the squad you have at your disposal, and in this case we’re talking about the first time this country have sent a team to a men’s FIFA World Cup,” Fossati told the FIFA website.

“The Qatari players in the squad are essentially the same lads as during my first spell at the club in 2007, which makes my life easier as they already know what to expect. But those players have pretty much never left Asia. That makes our foreign players hugely important to us.”

Ivory Coast international Abdul Kader Keita along with Korean defender Lee Jung-Soo both played at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, while Senegalese striker Mamadou Niang has vast experience with his country and Fossati pointed to them as keys for his side.

“These are guys who’ve played in World Cup qualifiers or even at the finals themselves,” Fossati said.

“That makes all the difference at a tournament like this. They are the spine of our team.”

Fossati added he felt his side’s draw, where they will face European champions Barcelona in the semi-final if they progress past Esperance, wasn’t favourable but insisted they will show the spirit they displayed during the 2011 Asian Champions League and not worry about such problems.

“I think, to be honest with you, that the draw has given us the toughest road,” Fossati said.

“First we’ve got Esperance and then, if we win, we’ve got no less a side than Barcelona. But, apart from against Barca, we do stand some chance of beating any of the other teams.”

“The odds may be better or worse, but the chance is always there. That was the case throughout the Champions League campaign.”

“At every stage of the competition, people said we had no chance, but we went all the way to the final, where we won the title by beating Jeonbuk Motors on penalties on their own patch, under huge pressure.”