Al Sadd SC

Al Sadd SC

Full name	Al Sadd Sports Club
Nickname(s)	Al Zaeem (The Boss) Al Dheeb (The Wolf) Malik Al Qulub (King of Hearts)
Short name	SADD
Founded	21 October 1969 (1969-10-21)
Ground	Jassim bin Hamad Stadium
Capacity	12,946
Chairman	Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani
Head coach	Felix Sanchez
League	Qatar Stars League
2023–24	Qatar Stars League, 1st
Website	http://al-saddclub.com/
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Al Sadd Sports Club (Arabic: نادي السد الرياضي) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the capital city Doha. It is 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 Leader". It is known as the best team in Qatar and is the only Qatari team that has won the AFC Champions League in Asia. In addition to football, the club has teams for handball, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, and athletics. Al Sadd is the most successful sports club in the country, and holds a national record of 64 official football championships.

The origin of Al Sadd's conception began with Al-Attiyah family members who excelled in football but did not wish to join any of the existing football clubs. After consulting the minister of Youth and Sports, the family, led by Ali Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, decided to found the club on 21 October 1969 in Qatar's capital city, Doha.

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-two years later, they won the 2011 AFC Champions League and earned a spot in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, in which Al Sadd finished third. They also earned a spot in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup automatically as host club, in which Al Sadd finished sixth.

History

1969–1980: Foundation and beginnings

Badr Bilal played for the club from 1979 to 1991.

Al Sadd was established in 1969 by Ali Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah and his relatives; they excelled in playing football, and refused to join other clubs at the time and decided to make their own club. The reason behind the club's name is that Ali Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah was born and raised in Al-Sadd area.

Moreover, they consulted with Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani, who was the minister of Youth and Sports at the time, at his residence on Al Rayyan Road. He obliged their request, and the next morning, the youth signed the necessary applications and created a club statue which they presented to Abdulaziz Buwazair, the operating manager of the Supreme Sports Committee, 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 formed in 1961 in the district of Al Sadd. The name "Al Ahrar" translates to "the free people", and was chosen to honor the Free Officers Movement led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. It was one of the several early football clubs in Qatar named in honor of a Pan-Arabism movement. By order of ministerial decree, Al Ahrar was merged with another Qatari football club named Al Nasr in 1964. Playing its home matches at the Doha Stadium, Al Ahrar played numerous matches abroad in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Following a mass brawl between Al Ahrar and Al Najah in a 1967–68 Qatari League match attended by Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the sheikh decided to "permanently and immediately" shut down the club and redistribute its players to other teams, paving the way to the formation of Al Sadd's early squad. The main founder of Al-Sadd, Ali Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, states that he and the other founders watched all of Al Ahrar's matches as a youth, and that its closure inspired he and his friends to draft plans for their own team.

In their initial year of establishment, Hamad bin Mubarak Al Attiyah, coached the club and the team trained on a football pitch in a local high school. While the founder of Al-Sadd club, Ali Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, was overseeing the club's performance and making crucial decisions. Al Sadd's initial popularity was owed in part due to its affiliation with the Al Attiyah tribe, a prominent local tribe, and its close affiliation with then-recently dissolved Al Ahrar club.

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 président 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 Abdullah Zaini. To 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 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 a domestic record by defeating Al-Shamal SC 16–2, the largest recorded win in a professional football match in the country's history. They nearly completed a domestic triple in 1987 but lost 2–0 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. In August 1985, Al Sadd shifted their headquarters to a new building equipped with modern furnishings and facilities.

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 Amir Ghalenoii, 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 an 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

Fossati helped the club achieve a domestic quadruple.

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.

They recorded the largest-ever win in the Sheikh Jassim Cup in 2006, when they defeated Muaither 21–0. At the time, it was the largest victory margin ever recorded in any football match in the GCC.

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 $22 million for the Argentinian 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 Fossatti 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 second leg 1–0, though 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. Championship 2011 in honor of the club's owner changed the team logo and stars to commemorate the AFC Champions League 1988.2011 was etched on the shirt Wolves.

During the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, Al Sadd was 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

Al Sadd against Persepolis in 2018 AFC Champions League

After the departure of Fossati, former Al-Sadd midfielder Hussein Amotta was named as the new coach in May 2012. The Moroccan had finished as the Qatar League top scorer during his four-year stay at the club from 1997 to 2001. He was working as the club's technical director prior to being promoted to the top job.

Just days before Amouta's appointment, Al-Sadd announced the high-profile signing of former Real Madrid captain Raúl, who arrived on a free transfer from Schalke 04.

Managed by Amouta and led by new captain Raúl, Al Sadd set a league record for the best start to the league season ever by winning all of their first nine games, shattering the previous record set by Al Gharafa, who had won seven. The team went on to break Lekhwiya's two-year dominance by winning the 2012–13 Qatar Stars League title, five years after their last triumph in the competition.

Al-Sadd faltered in the next two seasons, however, finishing third and second in 2013–14 and 2014–15 respectively, as Lekhwiya returned to win back-to-back titles once again. In 2015, Al-Sadd achieved the coup of signing Barcelona's storied Spanish international Xavi. In 2019 he ended his career as a professional player at the club to start there his career as football manager.

With Qatar as the host of the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup when announced by the FIFA Council on 3 June 2019, Al Sadd SC automatically qualified as the host club team.

With Xavi as manager, Al-Sadd won six cups and one championship title between 2019 and 2021. Xavi departed in 2021 to fill the managerial role at his boyhood club Barcelona.

Stadium and facilities

See also: 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. The stadium, originally built in 1974, was renovated in 2004 for the Gulf Cup. Situated near central Doha, the venue attracts large numbers of spectators. It is the de facto home stadium of the Qatar national football team.

Jassim Bin Hamad was one of the first stadiums to feature an air-conditioning system.

Stadium	Period
Tariq bin Zayed Stadium	1969–1975
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium	1975–present

Colours and crest

Among 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 other football clubs in the region, in the sense that it depicted a football with Arabic writing on it. This crest was an homage to former football club Al Ahrar. Originally, the club wanted to use the same crest as Al Ahrar, but this idea was rejected by the QFA. 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 30th 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 the top to mark the two Asian titles of 1989 and 2011.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
?–2016	Burrda	Vodafone
2017–2022	Puma	Qatar Airways
2022–present	New Balance	Qatar Airways

International club twinnings

Country	Club	From	Ref.
	Al-Hilal	2010
	Zamalek	2012
	Al-Hilal	2014
	Schalke 04	2015
	Trabzonspor	2017

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-Haydos, and 2006 Asian Footballer of the Year, Khalfan Ibrahim, who is the first Qatari to receive this award. 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 among the youth players. The programme had 284 participants enrolled as of 2011.

Performance in domestic competitions

See also: List of Al Sadd SC seasons

No.	Season	Opponent	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 Peruzovic
3	2004	Qatar SC	1–2	Medhat Mostafa (o.g.)	Bora Milutinovic
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 4 October 2023.

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	Pedro Miguel
3	MF	QAT	Ahmed Sayyar
4	MF	MLI	Mohamed Camara
5	DF	QAT	Tarek Salman
6	DF	BRA	Paulo Otávio
7	MF	QAT	Mohammed Waad
8	MF	QAT	Ali Assadalla
9	FW	QAT	Yusuf Abdurisag
10	MF	QAT	Hassan Al-Haydos (captain)
13	DF	QAT	Abdullah Al-Yazidi
14	MF	QAT	Mostafa Meshaal
16	DF	QAT	Boualem Khoukhi
17	FW	ESP	Cristo González
18	MF	BRA	Guilherme
19	FW	ESP	Rafa Mújica
20	MF	QAT	Salem Al-Hajri

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
21	FW	BRA	Giovani
22	GK	QAT	Meshaal Barsham
23	MF	QAT	Hashim Ali
28	FW	QAT	Ahmad Al-Saeed U21
29	DF	MAR	Romain Saïss
31	GK	QAT	Youssef Baliadeh
32	GK	QAT	Karim Haider U21
37	DF	QAT	Ahmed Suhail
66	DF	QAT	Abdulrahman Al-Ameen U21
70	DF	QAT	Musab Kheder
77	DF	ALG	Youcef Atal
81	DF	ALG	Abdessamed Bounacer
84	FW	QAT	Akram Afif
86	MF	QAT	Mohamed Faragalla U21
88	MF	COL	Mateus Uribe
96	MF	ALG	Adam Ounas

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
33	DF	QAT	Moaz El-Wadia U21 (on loan to Al Shahaniya)
98	FW	QAT	Nayef Hamid U21 (on loan to Al Shahaniya)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	QAT	Anas Abweny U21 (on loan to Calahorra B)
—	MF	QAT	Bassam Eid U21 (on loan to Calahorra B)

Staff

As of 21 June 2022.

Coaching staff
Head coach	Felix Sanchez
Assistant coach	Carlos Doménech Albert Fernández Javier Ramos
Goalkeeper coach	Julius Buscher
Fitness coach	Alberto Mendes David Rodriguez
Technical Analyst	Samir Brixi
U23 team coach	Abbas Abdulghani
U23 team assistant coach	Hamad Thamer
Medical staff
Team doctor	Aladdin Rahali
Physiotherapist	Akram Abid Raouf Bougamra Héctor García
Medical Therapist	Gore Pereira
Medical Therapist	Jefferson Gomes
Administrative staff
Director of football	Mohammed Al Ali
Sporting director	Mohammed Gholam
Media officer	Ahmad Al Ansari
Team manager	Abdulla Al Berik
First team officer	Mohammed Saeed
U23 team manager	Abdulaziz Al Jaiedi
Audience & marketing officer	Ahmed Al Sayed

Honours

Domestic

• Qatar Stars League
  • Winners (17) (record): 1971–72, 1973–74, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1999–2000, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2012–13, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24
• Emir of Qatar Cup
  • Winners (19) (record): 1974–75, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1993–94, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2024
  • Runners-up (7): 1973–74, 1982–83, 1986–87, 1992–93, 2001–02, 2012, 2013
• Qatar Cup
  • Winners (8) (record): 1998, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2017, 2020, 2021
  • Runners-up (4): 2004, 2012, 2013, 2018
• Qatar Super Cup / Sheikh Jassim Cup
  • Winners (15) (record): 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2014, 2017, 2019
  • Runners-up (2): 2012, 2015
• Qatari Stars Cup
  • Winners (2): 2010, 2019
  • Runners-up (1): 2013–14

Continental

• AFC Champions League
  • Winners (2): 1988–89, 2011
• Asian Cup Winners' Cup
  • Third place (1): 2001–02
• Arab Champions League
  • Winners (1): 2001
• Arab Cup Winners' Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 1992
• GCC Champions League
  • Winners (1): 1991

International

• Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu
  • Runners-up (1): 2013
• FIFA Club World Cup
  • Bronze Medalist (1): 2011
    • Qualified as host: 2019
• Afro-Asian Club Championship
  • Runners-up (1): 1989

Records

Club

Matches

• Largest victory: Al Sadd 21–0 Muaither (2006–07)
• Longest winning run: 9 matches (2011–12) (Record)
• Largest Asian victory: Al Sadd 6–2 Lokomotiv (2014–15)
• Largest Asian defeat: Al Hilal 5–0 Al Sadd (2013–14)

Individual

Qatar Stars League Top scorers

The following players have won the QSL top goalscorer award while playing for Al Sadd:

• Hassan Mattar – 1979, 1981
• Badr Bilal – 1980
• Hassan Jowhar – 1988
• Hussein Amotta – 1998
• Carlos Tenorio – 2006
• Baghdad Bounedjah – 2019, 2021
• Akram Afif – 2020

Players

As of 1 November 2024.

Notes: Early years statistics are primarily unknown.
Names in bold are players who are still at the club at present.

All-time top goalscorers

Rank	Nation	Name	Years	Goals
1		Baghdad Bounedjah	2016–2024	219
2		Hassan Al-Haydos	2007–	134
3		Akram Afif	2018–	131
4		Carlos Tenorio	2003–2009	104
5		Khalfan Ibrahim	2004–2017	104
6		Yusef Ahmed	2005–2015	54
7		Emerson Sheik	2005–2007 2008–2009	50
8		Leandro Montera	2009–2012	50
9		Hussein Amotta	1997–2001	49
10		Felipe Jorge	2005–2010	40

All-time most appearances

Rank	Nation	Name	Years	Apps
1		Hassan Al-Haydos	2007–	492
2		Abdulla Koni	1996–2014	342
3		Khalfan Ibrahim	2004–2017	316
4		Abdelkarim Hassan	2010–	312
5		Mohamed Saqr	2003–2012	287
7		Talal Al-Bloushi	2003–2017	286
6		Saad Al-Sheeb	2008–	280
8		Mubarak Anber	1975–1987	246
9		Jafal Rashed Al-Kuwari	1990–2009	245
10		Mesaad Al-Hamad	2004–2014	239

Noted players

See also: Category:Al Sadd SC players

Updated 20 May 2019.

This list includes players whom have made significant contributions to their national team and to the club. At least 100 caps for either the national team or club is needed to be considered for inclusion.

Players with significant contributions to club or country

Player	Nationality	Int. caps / goals	Club caps / goals
Mubarak Anber	Qatar	100+ (?)	246 (?)
Abdulla Koni	Qatar	38 (3)	222 (13)
Mohamed Saqr	Qatar	79 (0)	185 (0)
Mesaad Al-Hamad	Qatar	44 (0)	149 (4)
Wesam Rizik	Qatar	101 (9)	145(16)
Talal Al-Bloushi	Qatar	64 (40)	142 (3)
Khalfan Ibrahim	Qatar	54 (17)	130 (45)
Dahi Al Naemi	Qatar	32 (3)	124 (2)
Ali Afif	Qatar	20 (12)	123 (33)
Felipe Jorge	Brazil	7 (0)	107 (45)
Raúl	Spain	102 (44)	34 (10)
Ali Daei	Iran	149 (109)	16 (10)
Younis Mahmoud	Iraq	148 (57)	7 (2)
Xavi	Spain	133 (13)	115 (23)

Former captains

Player	Nationality	Trophies
Obeid Jumaa	Qatar	Emir Cup: 1975
Mubarak Anber	Qatar	Emir Cup: 1977, 1982, 1985, 1986
Yousef Al Adsani	Qatar	Emir Cup: 1988, 1991 Asian Club Championship:1989
Khalid Salman	Qatar	Emir Cup: 1994
Abdulnasser Al-Obaidly	Qatar	Crown Prince Cup: 1998 Emir Cup: 2000, 2001
Jafal Al Kuwari	Qatar	Emir Cup: 2003, 2005, 2007
Felipe Jorge	Brazil	Crown Prince Cup: 2008
Abdulla Koni	Qatar	AFC Champions League: 2011
Raúl	Spain	Emir Cup: 2014
Talal Al-Bloushi	Qatar	Super Cup: 2014 Emir Cup: 2015
Xavi	Spain	League: 2019 Super Cup: 2017 Emir Cup: 2017

Managerial history

As of July 2024.

Years	Months	Manager
1969	Unknown	Hamad Al Attiyah1
1969	Unknown	Said Musa1
1969–73	Unknown	Unknown
1973–74	Unknown	Said Musa1
1974	Unknown	Abdulla Balash
1974–77	Unknown	Hassan Othman
1977–79	Unknown	Unknown
1979–82	Unknown	José Faria
1982	Unknown	Hassan Othman
1982–83	Unknown	Jimmy Meadows
1983–84	Unknown	Pepe
1984–85	Unknown	Hassan Othman
1985–87	Unknown	Procópio Cardoso
1987–88	Unknown	Ahmed Omar
1988–89	Unknown	José Carbone
1989	Unknown	Obeid Jumaa
1989	Unknown	José Carbone
1989–90	Unknown	Cabralzinho
1990–91	Unknown	Silas
1991–92	Unknown	Obeid Jumaa
1993	Unknown	Sebastião Lapola
1993–94	Unknown	Ahmed Omar
1994	Unknown	Flamarion Nunes
1994–95	Unknown	Džemaludin Mušović
1995	Unknown	Khalifa Khamis
1995–96	Unknown	Sebastião Rocha
1996–97	Unknown	Ahmed Omar

Years	Months	Manager
1997	Unknown	Abdelkadir Bomir
1997	Unknown	Evaristo de Macedo
1997	Unknown	Zé Mário
1997–98	Unknown	Rabah Madjer
1998–99	Unknown	Abdelkadir Bomir
1999	Unknown	Luiz Gonzaga2
1999	Unknown	Evaristo de Macedo
1999	Unknown	Adnan Dirjal
1999–00	Unknown	Procópio Cardoso
2000	Unknown	Džemaludin Mušović
2000–01	July – Oct	René Meulensteen
2001–02	Oct – Oct	Ilie Balaci
2002–04	Oct – May	Luka Peruzović
2004–05	May – Oct	Bora Milutinović
2005–06	Oct – May	Mohammed Al Ammari
2006–07	May – Aug	Jorge Fossati
2007–08	Aug – Jan	Co Adriaanse
2008	Feb – June	Hassan Hormutallah
2008	June – Nov	Émerson Leão
2008–09	Nov – June	Džemaludin Mušović
2009–10	June – Dec	Cosmin Olăroiu
2010–12	Dec – May	Jorge Fossati
2012–15	June – Nov	Hussein Amotta
2015–19	Nov – May	Jesualdo Ferreira
2019–21	May – Nov	Xavi
2021–22	Nov – Jul	Javi Gracia
2022–2023	Jul – Jul	Juanma Lillo
2023	Jul – Nov	Bruno Pinheiro
2023–2024	Nov – July	Wesam Rizik

Notes

• Note 1 denotes player–manager role.
• Note 2 denotes caretaker role.

Xavi, former coach of Al Sadd.

Club officials

Management

Office	Name
Président	Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani
Vice-président	Nasser bin Mubarak Al Ali
Board member	Jassim Al Romaihi
Board member	Khalifa Al Attiyah
Treasurer	Fahad Al Kaabi
Board member	Abdulaziz Al Mana
Board member	Fahad Al Kuwari
Board member	Mohammed Ghanem Al Ali
Board of directors

Presidential history

	Président
1	HE Ahmad bin Jassim bin Fahad Al-Thani
2	HE Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiya
3	HE Jassim bin Hamad bin Jaber Al-Thani
4	HE Mohammed bin Mubarak Al-Ali
5	HE Nasser bin Mubarak Al-Ali
6	HE Mohammed bin Khalifa 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'.

Head-to-head

Updated 16 March 2023

Head-to-head
Competition	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Qatar Stars League	60	27	13	20	102	79	+4
Sheikh Jassem Cup	6	2	2	2	7	6	+1
Emir Cup	10	5	0	5	14	13	+1
Crown Prince Cup	11	3	5	3	12	10	+2
Reserve League	8	4	2	2	16	11	+5
Qatar Stars cup	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1
Arab Champions League	1	1	0	0	5	1	+4
Total	95	41	20	34	161	119	+42

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. The derby is an important component of the country's culture.

Al Arabi always regarded themselves as the club of Qatar's working class, in contrast with the more upper-class support base of Al Sadd. The social class divide between the two fan bases eventually diminished.

Memorable matches

Bold indicates a win.

Season	Result	Competition	Notes
1981–82	0–1	Emir Cup
1985–86	3–2	Emir Cup
1995–96	0–0	Qatar Stars League	Al Arabi crowned champions.
2001–02	6–2	Qatar Stars League
2003–04	7–0	Qatar Stars League
2005–06	2–1	Qatar Stars League	Al Sadd crowned champions.
2009–10	3–3	Qatar Stars League	Al Sadd came back from 3–0 down to deny Al Arabi an ACL spot.

Head-to-head

league From 1996 to 2023.

Head-to-head
Competition	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Qatar Stars League	61	34	13	14	137	66	+71
Sheikh Jassem Cup	6	5	0	1	13	8	+5
Emir Cup	14	8	2	4	23	15	+8
Crown Prince Cup	3	2	0	1	6	4	+2
Reserve League	8	4	2	2	16	11	+5
Qatar Stars Cup	6	2	2	2	20	13	+7
Total	97	55	19	23	189	100	+89

Supporters

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, who were the three main powers of the 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; it is not merely 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, annual general meetings are held between the management and fans in order to have an open platform to discuss issues in an open environment. 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 fan club has won the QFA-sanctioned title of best fan club in Qatar for three successive years – 2006, 2007 and 2008.

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

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

Asian record

See also: Al Sadd SC in international football competitions

Updated 28 May 2014.

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.

Participations

• PO: Play-off Round, Q : Qualified, GS : Group stage, R16 : Round of 16, QF : Quarterfinals, SF : Semi-finals, RU : Runners-up, W : Winners

Participations
Qualified	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2010	2011	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
14 Times	GS	GS	QF	GS	GS	GS	GS	W	QF	R16	PO	PO	SF	SF	R16	GS

• 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

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

Other sports

Basketball

Main article: Al Sadd Basketball Team

Handball

Main article: Al Sadd Handball Team

Futsal

Main article: Al Sadd Futsal Team

External links

• Official website (in English and Arabic) (archived 7 July 2011)