Al Sadd SC

Al Sadd SC

Logo
Full name	Al Sadd Sports Club ( Arabic : نادي السد الرياضي )
Nickname(s)	Al Zaeem (The Boss) Al Dheeb (The Wolf) Al Alami (The World Class)
Founded	21 October 1969 (1969-10-21)
Ground	Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium Doha, Qatar
Capacity	18,000
Chairman	Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani
Manager	Hussein Amotta
League	Qatar Stars League
2012–13	Qatar Stars League, 1st
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Al Sadd's active sections
Football	Basketball	Handball
Volleyball	Futsal	Athletics

Al Sadd Sports Club (Arabic: نادي السد الرياضي) is a Qatari multi-sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the city of Doha. It best known for its association football team, which competes in the top level of Qatari football, the Qatar Stars League. Locally, it is known primarily by the nickname "Al Zaeem", which translates to "The Boss". The club has participation in handball, basketball, volleyball, table tennis and athletics. It is the most successful sports club in the country, and holds a national record of 61 football championships.

The origin of Al Sadd's conception began with four Qatari students whom excelled in football, but did not wish to join any of the existing football clubs. After consulting with the minister of Youth and Sports, the group, led by Nasser bin Mubarak Al Ali, founded the club on 21 October 1969 in Qatar's capital city.

In the 1989 season, they became the first Arab club side to triumph in the Asian Club Championship by defeating Al Rasheed of Iraq on an aggregate of away goals. Twenty-three years later they were once again victorious in the top regional competition, now known as the Asian Champions League, earning a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup. They finished third, becoming the first West Asian side to claim third place in the competition.

History

1969–1980: Foundation and beginnings

Al Sadd was established by four students who excelled in playing football. They refused to join other clubs at the time and decided to make their own club. They consulted with Sheikh Qassem bin Hamad Al-Thani, who was the minister of Youth and Sports at the time. He obliged their request, resulting in the formation of Al Sadd Sports Club. Many of the early players and supporters were remnants of Al Ahrar SC, a club which was dissolved in the 1966/67 season.

The club won the first ever league title in 1971–72. However, this was one year before the league was officially recognized. Thus, they won their first official QSL title in 1973–74. Sadd, along with Al Arabi and Al Rayyan, went on to dominate Qatari football in the 70s and the 80s by winning many Qatari League trophies and Emir Cups. Youssef Saad, a Sudanese forward who played for the club since its inception, was the first ever professional player to officially join the ranks of Al Sadd. In 1974, while Al Sadd was still in its infancy, they dubiously transferred 14 players, including Mubarak Anber and Hassan Mattar, and head coach Hassan Othman from Al Esteqlal (later to be known as Qatar SC), much to the dismay of club president Hamad bin Suhaim. Transfers could be made unconditionally during this time, meaning Esteqlal's protests were in vain. This was a major factor in them winning their first cup championship the next year in 1975. They defeated Al Ahli 4–3 in a tightly contested match under the leadership of Hassan Osman in order to claim the Emir Cup. Their goals came from Youssef Saad, who scored a brace, and Ali Bahzad and Abdulla Zaini. Till this day, it is the joint-largest score in an Emir Cup final match.

They won the first ever Sheikh Jassim Cup held in 1977–78, as well as winning it two more times in the next two years. In 1978–79, the club succeeded in achieving their first domestic double by winning both, the Sheikh Jassim Cup and the league, accomplishing the same feat the next season.

1980–2000: First international success

In the 1981–82, they won the Emir Cup and Sheikh Jassim Cup, once again under the reigns of Hassan Osman. During this period, Badr Bilal and Hassan Mattar, both of whom were top scorers in the league at one point, led the team to victories in both of the finals. Al Sadd also succeeded in setting an Emir Cup record by defeating Al Shamal 16–2, the largest recorded win in the history of the tournament. They nearly completed a domestic triple in 1987, but lost 2 nil to Al Ahli in the Emir Cup final that year.

They were the first team to play against English side Cheadle Town on their home grounds, Park Road Stadium, under the leadership of Jimmy Meadows in 1982. They were victorious by a 4–1 margin.

Al Sadd won their Champions League debut in 1988 (then known as Asian Club Championship), where they secured the top position in their group. They faced Al-Rasheed of Iraq in the final, defeating them on away goals, thus fending the Iraqis off in order to claim the title of the first Arab team to ever win the championship. The victorious team was largely made up locals, with the exception of Lebanese Wassef Soufi and Iranian Ebrahim Ghasempour, who did not participate in the final due to the Iran–Iraq War. In addition to winning the Asian Champions League, they won the Sheikh Jassim Cup and the league on that year. They were the first team to play in Iran after the Iran–Iraq War, losing 1–0 to Esteghlal in a ACC match in 1991. The 1990s were a lean phase for Al Sadd, regarding the league. They could not win even one league championship during that period. However, they did manage to open their account in the Heir Apparent Trophy and also won the Gulf Club Champions Cup in 1991.

2000–2010: New century, new possibilities

The new millennium opened up a new era for Al Sadd. They returned to winning ways in the Qatari League, won many Emir Cups and Heir Apparent trophies. They also managed a triple crown in regional football by winning the Arab Champions League in 2001.

Fossati helped the club achieve a domestic quadruple.

They recorded the largest-ever win in the Sheikh Jassim Cup in 2006, when they defeated Muaither 21–0.

In 2007, under the command of Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati, they achieved a quadruple by winning all four domestic cups. They were the first Qatari team to do so, and had also set a league record for the highest winning streak by winning 10 leagues games in a row. In addition, they made a record signing in Qatari football by paying $22M for Mauro Zárate the same year. In 2010, they were the second team to ever win the QNB Cup by defeating Umm Salal in the final.

2010–2012: Second Fosatti era

Al Sadd was placed in the qualifying play-offs of the 2011 Champions League, courtesy of the disqualification of Vietnamese teams due to the non-submission of documents. They beat Al-Ittihad of Syria and Indian club, Dempo SC, 5–1 and 2–0 respectively, to acquire a spot in the group stage. Al Sadd, who were the definite underdogs, overcame the odds and topped their group to play against Al-Shabab, whom they beat 1–0.

The quarter-final against Sepahan would mark the first sign of controversy for the club. Sepahan had initially won the first-leg match against Al Sadd 1–0; however, after the match, Al Sadd lodged a formal complaint to the AFC as Sepahan had fielded an ineligible player, Rahman Ahmadi, who previously received two yellow cards in the tournament with his former club. The match was overturned 3–0 in favor of Al Sadd, virtually ensuring the club a place in the semi-finals.

They later faced Suwon Samsung Bluewings in a highly publicized semi-final. Suwon were favorites to win after knocking last year's runners-up, Zob Ahan, out of the running. The first-leg match was played in Suwon, South Korea. In the 70th minute of the match, Mamadou Niang of Al Sadd had a deflected shot veer past the goalkeeper, settling the score 1–0. Ten minutes later, a Suwon player was inadvertently kicked in the head by an Al Sadd defender, prompting Suwon to kick the ball out of play. While the injured Suwon player was being tended to, Niang sprinted past the keeper to score a second goal, infuriating the Suwon players. The chaos was elevated when a Suwon fan had run onto the pitch, sparking a mass melee which involved both coaching staff and players. After the fight was brought to a halt, the referee sent off a player from each team while Niang later got a red card and Al Sadd's Korean defender Lee Jung-Soo had walked off the pitch in frustration.

The melee prompted official investigation from the AFC, who suspended three players from both teams for six games. Al Sadd lost the 2nd leg 1–0, however this allowed them to advance to the final with a 2–1 aggregate to face Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Al Sadd later received the nickname "Al-Badd" from the Korean media as a result of their semi-final confrontations.

Al Sadd celebrate after winning 2011 AFC Champions League.

They won the 2011 AFC Champions League Final against Jeonbuk, 4–2 on penalties. This earned them a spot in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup.

To date, this is the best result achieved by a Qatari team in the AFC Champions League under its new format. Al Sadd also became the first team to reach the AFC Champions League knockout stage after starting their campaign in the play-offs in February. Furthermore, Al Sadd was crowned "AFC Club of the Year" in 2011 by AFC after their Champions League conquest.

During the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, Al Sadd were eliminated in the semi-final stage by Barcelona, which set up a third-place meeting between them and Kashiwa Reysol. This was the first time two clubs from the same confederation faced off each other in a third-place match. Al Sadd won the encounter on penalties in order to be the first West Asian club to claim the bronze medal in the FIFA Club World Cup.

2012–present: Post-ACL Champions

Under the leadership of Hussein Amotta, Al Sadd set a league record for the best start to the league season ever by winning all nine of their first games, shattering the previous record set by Al Gharafa with 7 of their first league games won.

They won the 2012–13 Qatar Stars League title, 5 years after they won their last Qatari league title.

Honours

As of 27 April 2013, the club holds 61 football championship titles.

Domestic competitions

• Qatari League

Winners (13): 1971–72, 1973–74, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–89, 1999–2000, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2012–13 (Record)

• Emir of Qatar Cup

Winners (13): 1975, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 (Record)

• Qatar Crown Prince Cup

Winners (5): 1998, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 (Record)

• Sheikh Jassem Cup

Winners (12): 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2007 (Record)

• Qatar Reserves League

Winners (5): 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011-12, 2012-13(Record)

• QFA Cup

Winners (7): N/A

• Qatari Stars Cup

Winners (1): 2010 (Record)

• Qatar Insurance Cup

Winners (1): 1994

Asian competitions

• AFC Champions League

Winners (2): 1989, 2011

Regional competitions

• Arab Champions League

Winners (1): 2001

• GCC Champions League

Winners (1): 1991

• Gulf Air Cup

Winners (1): 1982

• Joint Tournament

Winners (1): 2003–04

International competitions

• FIFA Club World Cup

Bronze Medalist (1): 2011

Records

• Largest victory: Al Sadd 21–0 Muaither (2006/07)
• Longest winning run: 9 matches (2011/12)
• Largest Asian victory: Al Ahli 0–5 Al Sadd (2009/10)
• Largest Asian defeat: Al Sadd 1–4 Najaf (2006/07)

Individual

Last update: 3 May 2013. Only league matches counted.
Note: Early league statistics are largely unknown.

Qatar Stars League Top scorers

The following players have won the top scorer award in the league:

• Hassan Mattar – 1979, 1981
• Badr Bilal – 1980
• Hassan Jowhar – 1988
• Hussein Amotta – 1998
• Carlos Tenorio – 2006

Most appearances

#	Nat.	Name	Career	Apps
1		Abdulla Koni	1996–	222
2		Mohamed Saqr	2003–	185
3		Mesaad Al-Hamad	2004–	144
4		Talal Al-Bloushi	2003–	142
5		Khalfan Ibrahim	2004–	130
6		Wesam Rizik	2004–2009 2010–	125
7		Dahi Al Naemi	1995–2005	124
8		Ali Afif	2004–2012	123
9		Felipe Jorge	2005–2010	107
10		Hassan Al Haidos	2007–	105

Most goals

#	Nat.	Name	Career	Goals
1		Carlos Tenorio	2003–2009	62
2		Khalfan Ibrahim	2004–	46
3		Felipe Jorge	2005–2010	45
4		Ali Afif	2004–2012	33
5		Abdul Kader Keïta	2002–2005 2010–2012	30
6		Majed Mohammed	2005–2012	28
7		Yusef Ahmed	2005–	24
=		Emerson Sheik	2005–2007 2008–2009	24
9		Leandro	2009–	23
10		Hassan Al Haidos	2007–	20

Stadium and facilities

Main article: Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium

Home matches are played in the state-of-the-art (football-specific) Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (also known as Al Sadd Stadium), with a capacity which adds up to 18,000, including VIP stands. Such a capacity reflects the demand expected from the Qatari population, which has yet to reach 2 million people. The stadium, originally built in 1974, was rebuilt in 2004 for the Gulf Cup. The stadium has a unique atmosphere, and being close to the city centre it attracts lots of fans. For these reasons, the stadium is the de facto home stadium of the Qatar national football team.

Jassim Bin Hamad is a very distinct stadium in the Middle East because of its unique features, such as the cooling system which is implented.

Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium

Colours and crest

Amongst Al Sadd's most popular nicknames are Al Zaeem (The Boss) and Al Dheeb (The Wolf). From the foundation of the club, the common home kit includes a white shirt, black or white shorts, and white socks. White and black colours are also seen in the crest. The away kit of the club is associated with a black background. Pink was adopted as the club's primary colour for their third uniform in 2007.

Their first crest was designed in Lebanon in 1969, and was similar to its successors, in the sense that it depicted a football with Arabic writing on it. A second crest was designed in the eighties, and was designed by the founder of the club, Nasser bin Mubarak Al-Ali. It was used until 1999, the year in which their third crest was designed, also by Nasser bin Mubarak Al-Ali, in celebration of the 30-year anniversary of the founding of the club. Following their impressive AFC Champions League campaign in 2011, the logo was modified and released in June 2012 to include two golden stars on either side to signify their two Asian championship titles.

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Period	Kit manufacture	Shirt sponsor
2009–2011	BURRDA	Qtel
2011–present		Vodafone

Kit history

Current

Home	Away	Alternative

Youth development

The club hosts numerous age brackets with a number of youth coaches. Many notable local footballers have graduated from Al Sadd's academy, including Jafal Al Kuwari, Khalid Salman, Hassan Al Haidos and former Asian player of the year, Khalfan Ibrahim. There have been foreign graduates as well, such as UAE's Mutaz Abdulla. They have a youth development programme, which instills philosophies and enforces training ideals amongst the youth players. The programme currently has 284 participants enrolled as of 2011. Break-up is as follows:

Category	Grass–roots	U–14	U–15	U–17	U–18	Total
Number of players	174	25	25	30	30	284
Number of trainers	1	1	1	1	1
Training sessions/week	5	5	5	5	5

Seasons overview

Season-to-season

1973–82 Season Div. Pos. Emir of Qatar Cup Crown Prince Cup Sheikh Jassim Cup Asia 1973–74 QSL 1 Runners-up NC NC – – 1974–75 QSL NC Winners NC NC – – 1975–76 QSL – – NC NC – – 1976–77 QSL – Winners NC NC – – 1977–78 QSL – – NC Winners – – 1978–79 QSL 1 – NC Winners – – 1979–80 QSL 1 – NC Winners – – 1980–81 QSL 1 – NC – – – 1981–82 QSL – Winners NC Winners – –

1983–92 Season Div. Pos. Emir of Qatar Cup Crown Prince Cup Sheikh Jassim Cup Asia 1982–83 QSL – Runners up NC – – – 1983–84 QSL 5 – NC – – – 1984–85 QSL 5 Winners NC – – – 1985–86 QSL 5 Winners NC Winners – – 1986–87 QSL 1 Runners up NC Winners – – 1987–88 QSL 1 Winners NC – – – 1988–89 QSL 1 – NC Winners ACC Winners 1989–90 QSL – – NC – – – 1990–91 QSL – Winners NC Winners – – 1991–92 QSL 3 – NC – – –

1993–02 Season Div. Pos. Emir of Qatar Cup Crown Prince Cup Sheikh Jassim Cup Asia 1992–93 QSL – Runners-up NC – – – 1993–94 QSL 3 Winners NC NC – – 1994–95 QSL 5 – Did not qualify – – – 1995–96 QSL 4 – Semi-finals – – – 1996–97 QSL 5 – Semi-finals – – – 1997–98 QSL 3 – Winners Winners – – 1998–99 QSL 3 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Group stage – – 1999–00 QSL 1 Winners Semi-finals Winners – – 2000–01 QSL 6 Winners Did not qualify – – – 2001–02 QSL 4 Runners-up Semi-finals Winners – – 2002–03 QSL 2 Winners Winners Group stage ACL Group stage

2003–12 Season Div. Pos. Emir of Qatar Cup Crown Prince Cup Sheikh Jassim Cup Asia 2003–04 QSL 1 Semi-finals Runners-up Group stage ACL Group stage 2004–05 QSL 7 Winners Did not qualify Group stage ACL Quarter-finals 2005–06 QSL 1 Quarter-finals Winners Semi-finals ACL Group stage 2006–07 QSL 1 Winners Winners Winners ACL Group stage 2007–08 QSL 2 Semi-finals Winners Semi-finals ACL Group stage 2008–09 QSL 2 Semi-finals Semi-finals Semi-finals – – 2009–10 QSL 2 Semi-finals Semi-finals Semi-finals ACL Group stage 2010–11 QSL 6 Quarter-finals Did not qualify Semi-finals ACL Winners 2011–12 QSL 4 Runners-up Runners-up Group stage – –

• Note 1: The first official Qatari League season was held in 1972–73.
• Note 2: Competition was not held that year.

Performance in domestic competitions

Last update: 26 April 2013.

Domestic cup finals

No.	Season	Opposition	Result	Scorer(s)	Head coach
Emir Cup
1	1974	Qatar SC	1–2	Youssef Saad	Said Musa
2	1975	Al Ahli	4–3	Youssef Saad (2), Ali Behzad, Abdulla Zaini	Hassan Othman
3	1977	Al Rayyan	1–0	Ali Behzad	Hassan Othman
4	1982	Al Rayyan	2–1	Badr Bilal, Hassan Mattar	Hassan Othman
5	1983	Al Arabi	0–1	N/A	Jimmy Meadows
6	1985	Al Ahli	2–1	Hassan Jowhar, Khalid Salman	Hassan Othman
7	1986	Al Arabi	2–0	Khalifa Khamis, Hassan Jowhar	Procópio Cardoso
8	1987	Al Ahli	0–2	N/A	Procópio Cardoso
9	1988	Al Wakrah	0–0 (4–3 pen.)	Yousef Adsani, Ebrahim Ghasempour, Salah Salman, Mohammed Al Ammari	Ahmed Omar
10	1991	Al Rayyan	1–0	Ali Abdel Razak	Cleyton Silas
11	1993	Al Arabi	0–3	N/A	Sebastião Lapola
12	1994	Al Arabi	3–2	Isaac Debra (2), Khalid Al Merreikhi	Ahmed Omar
13	2000	Al Rayyan	2–0	Diène Faye, Ezzat Jadoua	Džemaludin Mušović
14	2001	Qatar SC	3–2	Ahmed Khalifa, Radhi Shenaishil, Ali Benarbia	René Meulensteen
15	2002	Al Gharafa	1–4	Jafal Rashed	Ilie Balaci
16	2003	Al Ahli	2–1	Mohammed Gholam (2)	Luka Peruzović
17	2005	Al Wakrah	0–0 (5–4 pen.)	N/A	Bora Milutinović
18	2007	Al Khor	0–0 (5–4 pen.)	N/A	Jorge Fossati
19	2012	Al Gharafa	0–0 (3–4 pen.)	N/A	Jorge Fossati
Crown Prince Cup
1	1998	Al Arabi	3–2	Sérgio (2), Hussein Amotta	Abdelkadir Bomir
2	2003	Al Gharafa	2–0	Zamel Al Kuwari, Mohammed Gholam	Luka Peruzović
3	2004	Qatar SC	1–2	Medhat Mostafa (o.g.)	Bora Milutinović
4	2006	Qatar SC	2–1	Carlos Tenorio, Emerson Sheik	Jorge Fossati
5	2007	Al Gharafa	2–1	Carlos Tenorio (2)	Jorge Fossati
6	2008	Al Gharafa	1–0	Carlos Tenorio	Hassan Hormutallah
7	2012	Al Rayyan	1–1 (4–5 pen.)	Khalfan Ibrahim	Jorge Fossati
8	2013	Lekhwiya	2–3	Younis Mahmoud, Lee Jung-Soo	Hussein Amotta

Players

As of 30 January 2013.

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	QAT	Saad Al Sheeb
2	DF	QAT	Mesaad Al-Hamad
3	DF	QAT	Abdelkarim Hassan
4	DF	QAT	Abdulla Al-Berik
5	DF	QAT	Almahdi Ali Mukhtar
6	DF	QAT	Mohammed Kasola
7	FW	ESP	Raúl (vice-captain)
8	MF	QAT	Mohammed Al-Yazeedi
9	FW	BRA	Leandro
10	MF	QAT	Khalfan Ibrahim
11	MF	QAT	Hassan Al Haidos
13	MF	QAT	Ali Assadalla
14	FW	QAT	Hilal Mohammed
15	MF	QAT	Talal Al-Bloushi
17	MF	QAT	Saleh Bader Al Yazidi
18	DF	QAT	Omar Yahya Rabah

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
19	DF	QAT	Nasser Nabeel
20	FW	QAT	Yusef Ahmed
21	DF	QAT	Abdulla Koni (Captain)
22	GK	QAT	Muhannad Naim
25	MF	QAT	Mesab Khoder
26	DF	QAT	Taher Zakaria
30	GK	QAT	Mohamed Saqr
32	DF	QAT	Ibrahim Majid
37	FW	MAR	Hamza Senhadji
39	DF	ALG	Nadir Belhadj (vice-captain)
40	DF	KOR	Lee Jung-Soo
69	DF	QAT	Jassim Malalla
90	DF	QAT	Hamad Al-Mass
96	DF	QAT	Abdulrahman Nasser
--	FW	SEN	Mamadou Niang

For recent squad changes see: List of Qatari football transfers summer 2013.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	FW	QAT	Abdulaziz Al Ansari (at K.A.S. Eupen)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
--	FW	QAT	Akram Afif (at Sevilla FC)

Club staff

Last update: 18 July 2012.

Senior team

Coaching staff Head coach Hussein Amotta Assistant coach Hisham Khawatrah Goalkeeping coach Suhail Saber Fitness coach Alejandro Valenzuela Medical staff Team doctor Mohamed Soltani Physiotherapist Hussein Manae Physiotherapist Assad Ammari Technical staff Team manager Jaffal Al-Kuwari Reserve team manager Essa Al-Kuwari Sports officer Mohammed Gholam Director of football Mohammed Ghanim Deputy director Salem Al Ali Media officer Ali Al Ammari Audience & marketing Ahmad Al Ansari First team officer Mohammed Saeed

Youth teams

Coaching staff U–19 assistant coach Mubarak Ghanim Al Ali U–17 head coach Abdul Aziz Abdo U–15 head coach Mudhakar Mouloud U–14 head coach Nabil Belkhodja U–13 head coach Marcos dos Santos U–13 assistant coach Abdullah Al-Shamlan U–11 head coach Alaeddin Al Mendoh U–10 head coach Abdulaziz Zakaria U–9 head coach Mohammed Fathi Goalkeeping coach Mehdi Cerbah Goalkeeping coach Mauro Sergio Goalkeeping coach Mohammed Abdulwahab Medical staff Physiotherapist Rauf Mustafa Physiotherapist Salem Mohammed Fitness coach João Marx

Technical staff Technical director Barnabás Tornyi Technical supervisor Hassan Othman Head of youth teams Hassan Mattar Deputy head Khalid Saad U–19 director Abdulrazak Al Mansouri U–19 director Abdullah Al-Yami U–17 director Mohammed Dalloul U–15 director Salim Saud U–14 manager Mahmoud Diab U–13 manager Mohammed Mustafa U–13 coordinator Khalid Al Kanish U–11 manager Eid Johar Said U–10 manager Badr Al Yazidi U–9 manager Kaid Daifallah U–9 manager Shukri Hussein

AFC Champions League – championship squads

1988 Ahmed Matwi Saeed Mahboob Yousef Adsani Wassef Soufi Marzouk Juma Mohammed Al Ammari Khalid Salman Moh Ghanim Khalid Habib Hassan Johar Khalifa Khamis Badr Bilal Salah Salman Ebrahim Ghasempour See also: 1988–89 Asian Club Championship and 1988

2011 Mohamed Saqr Nadir Belhadj Mamadou Niang Abdul Kader Keita Khalfan Ibrahim Talal Al-Bloushi Abdulla Koni Wesam Rizik Ibrahim Majid Mohammed Kasola Lee Jung-Soo Ali Afif Hassan Al Haidos Taher Zakaria See also: 2011 AFC Champions League Final

Managerial history

Last update: June 2012.

1969–74:	Said Musa1
1974:	Abdulla Balash
1974–79:	Hassan Othman
1979–82:	José Faria
1982:	Hassan Othman
1982–83:	Jimmy Meadows
1983–84:	Pepe
1984–85:	Hassan Othman
1985–87:	Procópio Cardoso
1987–88:	Ahmed Omar
1988:	José Carbone
1988–89:	Obeid Jumaa
1989:	José Carbone

1989–90:	Cabralzinho
1990–91:	Cleyton Silas
1991–92:	Obeid Jumaa
1992–93:	Sebastião Lapola
1993–94:	Ahmed Omar
1994:	Flamarion Nunes
1994–95:	Džemaludin Mušović
1995–96:	Sebastião Rocha
1996–97:	Abdelkadir Bomir
1997:	Zé Mario
1997–98:	Rabah Madjer
1998–99:	Adnan Dirjal
1999–00:	Džemaludin Mušović

Jan 2000 – Oct 2001:	René Meulensteen
Oct 2001 – Oct 2002:	Ilie Balaci
Oct 2002 – May 2004:	Luka Peruzović
May 2004 – Oct 2005:	Bora Milutinović
Oct 2005 – May 2006:	Mohammed Al Ammari
May 2006 – Aug 2007:	Jorge Fossati
Aug 2007 – Jan 2008:	Co Adriaanse
Feb 2008 – Jun 2008:	Hassan Hormutallah
Jun 2008 – Nov 2008:	Émerson Leão
Nov 2008 – Jun 2009:	Džemaludin Mušović
Jun 2009 – Dec 2010:	Cosmin Olăroiu
Dec 2010 – May 2012:	Jorge Fossati
Jun 2012 – present:	Hussein Amotta

Notes

• Note 1 denotes player–manager role.

Club officials

Management

Office	Name
President	Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani
Vice-president	Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani
General secretary	Jassim Al Romaihi
Assistant secretary	Eid Al Merraikhi
Treasurer	Fahad Al Kaabi
Board member	Mehlish Al Khayarien
Board member	Talal Mansour
Board member	Mohammed Al Ali
Board member	Khalil Al Jaber

Last updated: February 2012
Source: Board of directors

Club presidents

As of 2012.

No.	Chairperson	No.	Chairperson
1	HE Sheikh Ahmad bin Jassim	4	HE Mohammed bin Mubarak Al-Ali
2	HE Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiya	5	Nasser bin Mubarak Al-Ali
3	HE Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jabr Al-Thani	6	HE Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani

Rivalries

Al Rayyan

A rivalry which stems from early in the history of the league, it is popularly known as the 'Qatari El Clasico'.

Al Arabi

This is the clash of Qatar's two most successful teams; Al Sadd and Al Arabi. For some fans, winning this derby is more noteworthy than winning the league itself. Qatar's derby is an important component of the country's culture, which celebrates football every time the two teams face each other.

Al Arabi always regarded themselves as the club of Qatar's working class, in contrast with the supposedly more upper-class support base of Al Sadd. At the present time, the fan bases of both are almost similar and are supported by all social classes. Being the fans of the most successful Qatari side, Al Sadd supporters have much to brag about; big scores against their arch-rivals in recent years increased the white and black supremacy over this derby.

Memorable matches

Emir cup finals

• Emir cup final 1982: Al Arabi 1–0 Al Sadd
• Emir cup final 1986: Al Sadd 3–2 Al Arabi

League matches

• 1995/1996 season: Al Arabi 0–0 Al Sadd (Al Arabi crowned champions)
• 2001/2002 season: Al Sadd 6–2 Al Arabi
• 2003/2004 season: Al Sadd 7–0 Al Arabi
• 2005/2006 season: Al Sadd 2–1 Al Arabi (Al Sadd crowned champions)
• 2009/2010 season: Al Sadd 3–3 Al Arabi (10-men Al-Sadd came back from 0-3 down to make a remarkable comeback in the last 10 minutes of the match and secure a spot in the Asian Champions League. Where as Al-Arabi lost their spot.)

Bold indicates a win.

Recent results

From 2000–2012.

Head-to-head
Competition	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Qatar Stars League	32	16	4	12	60	35	+25
Sheikh Jassem Cup	2	1	0	1	3	5	−2
Emir Cup	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1
Crown Prince Cup	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Total	37	18	4	15	67	44	+23

Supporters

File:Al-Sadd fan club.jpg

Al Sadd Fan Club's logo

Historically, Al Sadd has been the favoured club of Qatar's upper-class. The club garnered many supporters in the early years of the Qatar Stars League, along with Al Rayyan and Al-Arabi, whom were the three main powers of the league. Over the years, they have attracted a wider array of fans due to their continental accomplishments, such as winning the 1988–89 AFC Champions League.

The new millennium saw an influx of new fans as a result of recruiting many foreign nationals to play for the club, as well as the club's performance in regional competitions.

In order to better communicate with the fans, Al Sadd's fan club was established in the 2003–04 season of the QSL and was then an unprecedented idea in most Gulf and Arab clubs. The fan club serves many roles; not only is it restricted to organizing fan groups within the stadium, but it is also used as a means to discuss ways in which to improve the club. In addition, Al Sadd holds annual general meetings between the management and fans in order to have an open platform to discuss issues in an open environment. Ironically, this was greatly criticized at the beginning, while now other clubs are following suit.

The club also has annual and monthly awards for the best players of the club which is sponsored by Givenchy. The fans have won the title of best fan club in Qatar for three successive year – 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Furthermore, the fan club was also the first in Qatar to put the free SMS service for mobiles in place. After one and a half years, there are more than 8000 subscribers who received a number of over 3 million SMS' during this period.

Also active on social networking sites, the club has official Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Asian record

Competition	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
AFC Champions League	51	22	11	18	75	61
Asian Club Championship	9	6	2	1	16	8
Total	60	28	13	19	91	69

• Q = Qualification
• GS = Group stage
• R16 = Round of 16
• QF = Quarter-final
• SF = Semi-final

Asian Club Championship

Competition	Round	Country	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1988–89
Asian Club Championship	GS		Al-Futowa	4–1
	GS		Al-Ansar	1–0
	GS		Al-Rasheed	0–0
	SF		Pahang FA	2–0
	SF		Mohammedan SC	2–2
	SF		25 April	2–1
	SF		Al-Ittifaq	2–1
	Final		Al-Rasheed	1–0	2–3	3–3 (A)

AFC Champions League

Competition	Round	Country	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2002–03
AFC Champions League	GS		Esteghlal	1–2		1–2
	GS		Al Ain		2–0	2–0
	GS		Al-Hilal		1–3	1–3
2003–04
AFC Champions League	GS		Al Wahda	0–0	0–0	0–0
	GS		Al Quwa Al Jawiya	1–0	0–1	1–1
	GS		Al Qadisiya	1	0–0	0–0
2004–05
AFC Champions League	GS		Al Ahli	2–0	1–2	3–2
	GS		Al Kuwait	1–0	1–0	2–0
	GS		Neftchi	3–2	0–2	3–4
	QF		Busan I'Park	1–2	0–3	1–5
2005–06
AFC Champions League	GS		Al Shabab	2–3	0–0	2–3
	GS		Al Arabi	4–1	2–1	6–2
	GS		Al Quwa Al Jawiya	3–0	2–0	5–0
2006–07
AFC Champions League	GS		Al-Karamah	1–1	1–2	2–3
	GS		Najaf FC	1–4	0–1	1–5
	GS		Neftchi Farg'ona	2–0	1–2	3–2
2007–08
AFC Champions League	GS		Al-Ahli Jeddah	2–1	2–2	4–3
	GS		Al-Wahda	0–0	2–2	2–2
	GS		Al-Karamah	0–2	0–1	0–3
2009–10
AFC Champions League	GS		Al-Hilal	0–3	0–0	0–3
	GS		Al-Ahli	2–2	5–0	7–2
	GS		Mes Kerman	4–1	1–3	5–4
2010–11
AFC Champions League	Q1		Al-Ittihad	5–1
	Q1		Dempo	2–0
	GS		Esteghlal	2–2	1–1	3–3
	GS		Pakhtakor	2–1	1–1	3–2
	GS		Al-Nassr	1–0	1–1	2–1
	R16		Al-Shabab	1–0
	QF		Sepahan	1–2	3–02	4–2
	SF		Suwon Samsung	0–1	2–0	2–1
	Final		Jeonbuk Hyundai	4–2 pen

¹ Following the match between Al-Qadisiya and Al Sadd, Kuwaiti security personnel assaulted the visiting players; Al-Qadisiya were ejected from the competition and banned from AFC competitions for three years. Their record was expunged.

² The AFC Disciplinary Committee decided to award the quarter-final first leg to Al Sadd against Sepahan as a 3–0 forfeit win after Sepahan were found guilty of fielding an ineligible player. The match originally ended 1–0 to Sepahan.

AFC Club rankings

This is the current AFC coefficient. Rankings are calculated by the IFFHS.

Last update: 1 January 2012

Al Sadd competing against F.C. Barcelona in the CWC.

Rank	Country	Team	Points
1		Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	159.0
2		Suwon Samsung Bluewings	157.5
3		Al Sadd	128.5
4		Nasaf Qarshi	124.0
5		FC Seoul	120.5
6		Sepahan	120.5
7		Al Hilal	120.0
8		Nagoya Grampus	114.5
9		Al-Wehdat	111.5

International record

Competition	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
FIFA Club World Cup	3	2	0	1	2	5
Total	3	2	0	1	2	5

FIFA Club World Cup

2011

Espérance v Al Sadd

11 December 2011	Espérance	1–2	Al Sadd	Toyota Stadium, Toyota
Quarter-final	Darragi 60'	Report	Khalfan 33' Koni 49'	Attendance: 21,251 Referee: Enrique Osses (Chile)

Al Sadd v Barcelona

15 December 2011	Al Sadd	0–4	Barcelona	International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
Semi-final		Report	Adriano 25', 43' Keita 64' Maxwell 81'	Attendance: 66,298 Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)

Kashiwa Reysol v Al Sadd

18 December 2011	Kashiwa Reysol	0–0 (3–5 p)	Al Sadd	International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
Match for third place		Report		Attendance: 60,527 Referee: Noumandiez Doue (Côte d'Ivoire)
	Penalties
	Jorge Wagner Sawa Hayashi Otani		Niang Keïta Majid Al Haidos Belhadj

Other sports

Basketball

Main article: Al Sadd Basketball Team

Handball

Main article: Al Sadd Handball Team

Performance in AFC (Asian) Competitions

• AFC Champions League: 7 appearances

2002–03: Group Stage

2004: Group Stage

2005: Quarter-Finals

2006: Group Stage

2007: Group Stage

2008: Group Stage

2011: Champion

• Asian Club Championship: 4 appearances

1989: Champion

1990: Qualifying Stage

1991: Qualifying Stage

2000: Second Round

• Asian Cup Winners Cup: 4 appearances

1991/92: First Round

1994/95: Quarter-Final

2000/01: Second Round

2001/02: 3rd place

2010/11: 1st place

External links

• Official website