Al Rayyan coach Poya Asbaghi spoke to the media ahead of their 2024-2025 season Ooredoo Stars League Week 1 match against Umm Salal.

“We are coming from a good preparation for the season during which we played many friendly matches, so it will be a special event to meet the fans in our first match and we will be happy about that. The Umm Salal team we saw last season made it difficult for any competitor. They are a good team in defence and dangerous in counterattacks, so it will be a difficult start for us. We have prepared well for the season and we feel that we are ready for this challenge.

“The challenge of coaching Al Rayyan is exciting as it is the biggest team in Qatar and I believe that Al Rayyan’s goal is to develop further, and this season we have to compete for titles. I am happy to be here and the team needs to work hard and develop constantly, and the important thing for us is to always be better, so if we do this we can achieve our goals.

“Our team ranks are almost complete and we have a good list of players before facing Umm Salal,” said Asbaghi.

Al Rayyan player Roger Guedes said, “We know that Umm Salal are a tough team defensively and we played against them last season, and that was one of the reasons for our loss in the league. So we know that it is a difficult match and we will be ready to get the three points.

“Last season, we performed very well, the team was new and the foreign players were new, and we finished the league in second place, and I was competing for the top scorer title, and my goal this season is to get the top scorer title and win the league.

“We will do everything to please the great fans of Al Rayyan and we will work to achieve the three points in the first match, and we are waiting for them.”