Al Rayyan gear up for AFC Champions League challenge Thursday, 02 February 2012 00:17

Doha: Qatar Stars League (QSL) club Al Rayyan have signed three players in the January transfer window with a view to tighten the loose ends ahead of their AFC Champions League.

The reigning Emir’s Cup champions, who lost to Al Khor in the QSL last week, have signed Leandro Da Silva, Marconi Costa and Musaab Mahmoud.

Al Sadd striker Leandro Montera da Silva, or simply Leandro, is set to appear for Al Rayyan after the Brazilian signed a new deal, the two clubs confirmed yesterday.

Leandro who missed out on the ongoing League since its start due to a broken arm, will join his compatriot Afonso Alves in Rayyan’s frontline, also on a six-month deal from Al Sadd. They both joined Sadd in the 2009-10 season, with the latter moving to Rayyan after six months. Leandro will replace Brazilian centre-back Moses Moura.

Playmaker Rodrigo Tabata, also of Brazil, and deep defender Cho Yong-Hyung of South Korea are Rayyan’s other foreign players.

The Rayyan defence has been suffering a bit in the absence of Meshaal Mubarak, Hamad Ismail, Murad Negi and Abdulrahman Musabah (all injury). That prompted them to sign Musaab, a full-back who can play on either side, from Al Khor as well as deep defender Marconi from El Jaish, both on six-month loans.

The current recruitment were in the offing as Ali Salem, football chief at Al Rayyan club had given enough indications of the new signings.

The top club official had said that the club will announce a strong squad for AFC Champions League, Asia’s top event, that starts next month.

“It is wrong to assume that Al Rayyan would struggle in the AFC Champions League or doesn’t deserve a slot at Asia’s biggest event. We will show that we belong at this level as we have prepared and planned well for the coming months,” Salem had said in an interview.

“We are playing well in QSL and we will announce some new names in the coming week. We have looked at our mistakes and we are addressing those in the best manner possible. I repeat you will see a new Al Rayyan in the AFC Champions League,” he had said.

Salem said Al Rayyan stuttered in their QSL title race due to the absence of key young players taking part in the Qatar Olympic training camp. He urged Al Rayyan fans to keep supporting the team that has ‘plenty of talent at its disposal’.

He said the players were aware of the fans’ expectations. Salem said the Al Rayyan players had all the support from the management. Talking about the 1-0 loss to Al Khor in QSL last week, Salem said: “Sometimes you get to see bad results but they don’t happen because there was lack of effort.

We are putting in a lot of effort and you will see Al Rayyan back to winning form pretty soon.

Elsewhere, Al Gharafa parted ways with captain Ze Roberto, a twice World Cupper (1998 and 2006) with Brazil, and replaced him with Ivorian forward Aruna Dindane, from Lekhwiya.

Qatar Sports Club too strengthened their defence by roping in Norwegian Pa Modou Kah from Khor. They had signed Moroccan midfielder Anwar Diba, but had to overlook him after realising that he had not recovered from a thigh injury.

Meanwhile, QSL outfits Al Kharaitiyat and Al Khor are set to appear in the 2012 GCC football tournament later this month.

The event - that features some of the top clubs of the region - begins on February 16.

A total of 12 teams have been divided into four groups. Al Kharaitiyat play their first match at Grand Hamad Stadium on February 20 while Al Khor will be seen in action on February 21 at the same venue.

Al Khor take on Busateen of Bahrain on March 6 while Al Kharaitiyat play Al Arabi of Kuwait on April 2. More matches involving the two QSL clubs are scheduled on April 3, 16 and 17. The quarter-finals will be played on May 15 while the semifinals have been scheduled for May 23 and 29. The date of the final is yet to be decided. 

The Peninsula

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