Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Al Sadd midfielder and Spanish legend Xavi Hernandez has announced he will retire at the end of the current Qatar Stars League season.
Xavi, who has been playing for Al Sadd since 2015, said that he will move into coaching after hanging up his boots.
Xavi, who played a record 767 times for Spanish giants Barcelona and earned 133 caps with Spain, announced his retirement plans in an open letter to the Spanish media on Thursday.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Al Sadd coach Jesualdo Ferreira insists there is plenty of work to do in order to qualify for the 2019 AFC Champions League last 16 after the Qatari side secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor on Monday.
Xavi scored his second free-kick – and third goal – in two games as Al Sadd took an early lead at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium before Egor Krimets leveled proceedings as the sides went in level at the interval.
But with the clock ticking down, Baghdad Bounedjah capitalised on a defensive error before slotting home to seal all three points as the 2018 semi-finalists moved to the top of the Group D standings.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Goals from Xavi and Baghdad Bounedjah earned Qatar’s Al Sadd a hard-fought 2-1 home victory over Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor on Matchday Four of the 2019 AFC Champions League Group D on Tuesday.
The two teams had played out a 2-2 draw a fortnight ago in Tashkent and a single point separated them before kick-off, as Pakhtakor topped the group with five points.
Al Sadd needed just 10 minutes to take the lead through Xavi who, just as in the previous game, curled a free-kick into the top corner of Sanjar Kuvvatov net.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Al Sadd clinched the 2018-19 Qatar Stars League title after defeating Al Ahli 7-2 on Thursday.
Al Sadd sealed the QSL title - their first since the 2012-13 season - with a match to spare after defending champions Al Duhail lost 1-0 to Kharaitiyat. The win gave Al Sadd an unassailable 54 points from 21 matches with Al Duhail on 47.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: After another week of dramatic AFC Champions League action, the eight groups have taken shape as the group stage moves towards the business end of proceedings.
As the 32 sides begin to prepare for the crucial fifth round of fixtures from which some will advance and others may fall by the wayside, join the-AFC.com as we look back on the week in numbers.
Photos: Getty Images
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Big wins, debuts, disappointment and hope rekindled were all in the air after the 2019 AFC Champions League's Matchday Four of the Group Stage concluded this week.
Another exciting round of Continental football across Asia brought with it a series of intriguing ties, the-AFC.com talks to those involved to reflect on their latest matches.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Al Wahda's Leonardo has been named the Toyota Player of the Week for Matchday Four of the 2019 AFC Champions League.
Al Wahda's attacking midfielder Leonardo netted four times in his side's sensational 4-3 win at home over Qatar's Al Rayyan in their Group B Matchday Four clash on Monday to earn this week's top accolade.
The Brazilian's quadruple helped the Emirati club come back from 2-0 and then 3-1 deficits, with his match-winner coming in the 89th minute. The former Al Ahli Saudi star showed tremendous precision with his finishing, with his four goals coming from five shots on target.
Leonardo also made two key passes, registered 61 touches and won three fouls as he was awarded a 9.9 rating to lead the Toyota Player of the Week standings.
Countryman Ricardo Lopes (below) likewise shone on Matchday Four with the Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors winger scoring a stunning opener for the Korean side in their 2-1 win over Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds.