Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
How they qualified 4th place - Qatar Stars League 2011
Established 1952
Nickname Dream Team, Red Devils
Home stadium Grand Hamad Stadium (12,500)
Website www.alrarabi.qa
Club Honours
Qatar league champions 7 - 1983, 95, 91, 93, 94, 96, 97
Emir Cup winners 8 - 1978, 79, 80, 83, 84, 89, 90, 93
Crown Prince Cup 1 - 1997
Previous ACL appearances
Nil
While they are one of the oldest, most successful and best supported clubs in Qatar, this season marks the first time that Qatari side Al Arabi are appearing in the AFC Champions League.
Formed in 1952, the Red Devils have won seven Qatar league championships during their history. However, all of those titles came during a glorious spell between 1983 and 1997 when they also made an appearance in the Asian Club Championship final, which they lost 1-0 to Thai Farmers Bank in 1995.
They have continued to challenge for honours since then and finished runners-up in the league in 2001 and in third place in 2004, 2006 and 2010. They only managed to finish fourth last year but with third-placed Al Rayyan winning the Emir Cup, it was enough to earn them a ticket to play on the continental stage for the first time since 1999.
But while there is plenty of quality in the Al Arabi squad with Qatar international players Majdi Siddiq and Abdulaziz Hatem, Irani international Hadi Aghili, young Algerian star Boualem Khouki and Argentinian striker Leonardo Pisculichi, the team have struggled in the Qatar Stars League this season after a dreadful start which saw them manage only one win in their first 10 games.
Expectations
Apart from skipper Hadi Aghili, who helped Sepahan to reach the 2007 AFC Champions League final, and former Al Sadd player Madji Siddiq, the Al Arabi squad have had little experience of playing at continental level. Given their disappointing domestic form this season, little is expected of them on their AFC Champions League debut although they could still progress from a group that does not feature any real strong contenders.
Coach
Abdullah Saad
Qatari coach Abdullah Saad took charge of Al Arabi on a caretaker basis in January after the club dismissed Brazilian coach Paulo Silas following a poor start to the league season. It is the second time that Saad has been given the caretaker role after he replaced Henry Michel following the Frenchman's departure in 2006.
Did you know?
Legendary Argentinian striker Gabriel Batistuta ended his career with a prolific spell at Al Arabi. 'Batigol' joined the Qatari side at the age of 34 in 2003 and netted an amazing 25 goals in 18 games that season although it was not enough to help Al Arabi to win the Qatari league title as they finished in third place.
Key Player
Leonardo Pisculichi
A former Argentina U-20 international, Leonardo Pisculichi has been a prolific scorer for Al Arabi since he joined the Qatari club from Spanish side Mallorca in 2007. The 28-year-old is mainly deployed as an attacking midfielder but he was the league's second highest scorer in 2008 and 2009 when he scored 18 and 21 goals respectively.