(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Every football league reaches a stage when players, coaches and managers grapple a bout of the heebie jeebies. Even Michael Laudrup, for all his experience, is not immune to this syndrome.
The Denmark, Real Madrid and Barcelona legend made no secret of his anxiety at a press conference yesterday ahead of his side Al Rayyan's crucial match against Al Sadd in the QNB Stars League.
The Qatar Clasico is unlike another match in Qatar. It is promoted with much greater fanfare. Special invites are sent out to important people, the public relations machinery goes into overdrive and appeals are made to the public to turn out in large numbers at the stadium.
All this contributes to the build-up, and of course, the tension, especially when you are reminded that a loss at this stage of the tournament could well mean the end of your chances of winning the title. Al Duhail, coached by Djamel Belmadi, are leading the standings with 39 points from 15 matches, while Al Sadd have 37 and Al Rayyan 35.
'Yeah, of course, I am aware of that. We lose today (against Al Sadd) and Al Duhail beat Al Gharafa we would be down by seven points. Al Rayyan need to win to be able to dream of winning the title, Laudrup said at a press conference yesterday.
He expressed bemusement at his side's position in the standings, in the process paying leaders Al Duhail a compliment. 'It is strange that we are third despite winning 11 of our 15 matches so far. It means that Duhail are having an incredible season, with no losses so far.
Laudrup added that despite the four-point gap, his team only need to look at the result of the first leg of the Qatar Clasico in October last when Al Rayyan beat Al Sadd 2-1.
'There's no need to talk about motivation when we are playing a huge game like this. We are well prepared. We know that we need to win three points to stay in the competition.
However, he expressed serious reservations about the Qatar Football Association rule that every team must give a start to at least one under-23 player in every match. 'Frankly I am not very happy with this although I understand that the idea is to give young players experience.
He said that only Almoez Ali of Al Duhail and Akram Afif who recently signed for Al Sadd could make the starting XI of any team in Qatar, suggesting that many of the other U-23 players were lagging behind in talent and it would be a 'challenge accommodating them just for the sake of the abiding by the rule. 'It's not a problem if you have an Almoez or an Akram Afif. They would walk into any team whether it is U-23 or over-23, but for other teams it would be a challenge.
He suggested that teams could easily get around the rule by starting a young player and then substituting him after just five minutes.
'That would, however, be unfair to the players, said Laudrup. 'I am not comfortable with the idea.
The Dane otherwise had no complaints. 'I am very satisfied with our performance so far. We also have the Champions League coming up next week and we will be playing a lot of matches. We will see in March where we stand.
Al Rayyan captain Rodrigo Tabata who also attended the press conference, appealed to the team's fans to show up for the match at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium tomorrow.
'It's the most important match for us as far as this season is concerned. It would be great to see a packed stadium and I urge fans to come and watch us play, he said.
He dismissed suggestions that he has gone off the boil after a great start to the season. 'I will listen to your viewpoint. I am a hard-working professional who gives 100% to the team's cause. I am happy to help them in any way possible.
'However, I don't agree with you. In a recent survey it was clear that I am the best player among all those who wear the number 10 jersey in Qatar. But I will surely work even harder and hope to live up to everyone's expectations.
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