— I work with all seriousness and focus, and do my duty as a forward to help achieve the team’s goals

— We must continue our work in training and matches, and give off everything we've in the coming weeks of Expo Stars League

Ricardo Gomes mainly holds the key to Al Shamal’s fortunes and the forward from Cape Verde is living up to expectations ever since he joined the Expo Stars League team at the start of 2023-2024 season.

Gomes played a key role by scoring the winner as Al Shamal registered their first victory in the league championship by beating Al Ahli 2-1 in Week 8. They are now placed ninth with six points.

Gomes has already netted six times in the Expo Stars League and his consistent performance assumes much significance, given the fact that Al Shamal retained their place in the First Division this season by winning the Play-Off against Al Khor, having finished in 11th position in the 2022-2023 season.

The wily attacker, who has an uncanny ability to get past the rival defence, spoke to Qatar Stars League website in an Exclusive Interview.

Gomes said he was glad that he could settle into his stride before long in Qatar.

“New country, new league, new atmosphere… But I’m happy that it didn’t take much time for me to adjust to the new situation. I’m feeling very good. Game by game, I’m feeling better and it’s good that I’m among goals.

“I came to Expo Stars League from an altogether different league in Serbia, where I represented Partizan Belgrade for two seasons. The most important thing for me now is that, at Al Shamal, we’re showing some level. I’m confident we’ll be better as time passes and positive results will follow,” he said.

Gomes, who had an earlier stint with Partizan Belgrade in the 2018-2019 season, played mostly in Portuguese clubs. He has also donned the jerseys of Sharjah and Ittihad Kalba in the Gulf region and Erzurumspor in Turkey.

He said the project of Al Shamal and Qatar’s highly-successful hosting of FIFA World Cup 2022 influenced his decision to come to Qatar.

“I became interested in the project Al Shamal club has now. And Qatar's highly-successful hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2022 also played a role in my decision. I always wanted to be in a good team with supportive team-mates.

“We’ve got a good coach (Poya Asbaghi) and he has got a good system for us, the players. The team has a new direction and the coach understands the players well. We’re not a big club, but we press hard and run a lot,” he added.

Gomes said Al Shamal have their task cut out in the Expo Stars League.

“I work with all seriousness and focus, and do my duty as a forward to help achieve the team’s goals. We must continue our work and give off everything we’ve in the coming weeks of Expo Stars League. If we’ve to fight with big clubs in the tough league, the first thing is that we’ve to run more than them. We’re a team which can do well if we run more than our opponents.

“If you look at the results, we were unfortunate to have been at the receiving end of some matches despite the statistics favouring us. We couldn’t make use of all opportunities we created. But these things can happen in football.

“We’ve a good group of players with strong character and I’ve always felt welcomed in Qatar. This is what I wanted, as an overseas player, from Qatari players. Throughout my career, I haven’t set any targets. I always think about the next game and next training session. Realistically, I feel Al Shamal can achieve a respectable position at the end of the season. I don’t want to disappoint my team, that’s why I’m working harder. I want to do well as an attacker,” Gomes signed off.