Eventful start to an exceptional season

The 2022-23 edition of the Qatar Stars League got underway last week, amidst repeated references to the prospect of an ‘exceptional’ season. We really have to put the word between quotation marks, because there really is no surety about the nature of the exception. 

How different will this season be? Will the changes benefit the football ecosystem or will it be detrimental? Will it be exceptionally good or exceptionally unwatchable? These were questions in the minds of more than one journalist that attended the launch of the new season at a ceremony held at a five-star hotel a few days prior to the opening game.

To be honest, you shouldn’t have any doubt about it – this season is indeed different. This is the first season under the shadow of the QSL’s Central Scouting Team (CST), whose role and responsibility remains to be fully clear for followers of Qatari football. A number of clubs were yet to complete their foreign player signings with only days to go for the start of the season, and some voices in the media have put the blame on the CST, led by the league’s sporting director Antero Henrique, for the delays.

Faced with this question, both the QFA and QSL have firmly defended the CST as just an ‘advisory’ body, while stressing that signing decisions are made by clubs. Big sides like Al-Rayyan, Al-Gharafa and Qatar SC went through pre-season without completing their foreigner quintets and they have still not finished their transfer business, one week after the opening game. This seems like an immense waste of an opportunity considering that perennial favourites Al-Sadd and Al-Duhail have been dealt a huge blow ahead of this season.

For the first seven rounds, Qatar national team players will be unavailable for their clubs – Al-Sadd and Al-Duhail being the two teams contributing towards the bulk of the national squad – due to their marathon preparation camp for the World Cup. Questions about the pros and cons of this strategy remain to be answered and we probably will not see a conclusive answer until after Qatar’s World Cup campaign ends. 

For Al-Sadd and Al-Duhail, the impact is huge. They’ve both had to promote fresh-faced youngsters to the first team to play alongside established foreign stars, and while it will be a huge opportunity for those budding talents, it will also severely reduce the gap between the two giants and the rest of the league. We saw shades of that in the opening round when both sides lost, after taking the lead. 

When Al-Sadd’s media team announced their squad for the season, it was accompanied with a note detailing how the defending champions were missing 23 players (18 players with the national team, three injured, and two who had joined the military academy). It seemed like an anticipatory excuse ahead of their opening game against promoted Al-Markhiya. That excuse was used by some Al-Sadd fans when their side ended up losing 4-3 to the newcomers. 

Despite taking a 2-0 lead, Al-Sadd went on to lose their control of the game and saw Al-Markhiya, led by former Al-Sadd star Jugurtha Hamroun, blow them away with four goals of their own. You can read more about this clash – our pick for match of the week – in our special feature.

Just like Al-Sadd, Al-Duhail also fell to a defeat in the opening round, having had to play without important players like Almoez Ali, Bassam Al Rawi, and Karim Boudiaf. The void may not have been as significant as it was for Al-Sadd, but nevertheless on this opening night, they couldn’t get the better of an Al-Wakrah side that is fast proving to be their new nemesis. In a stat they would like to put behind them as quickly as possible, Al-Duhail’s 4-3 loss to Al-Wakrah was the third consecutive four-goal defeat to the team from southern Qatar, following the memorable double for Tintin Marquez’s side last season. 

Marquez saw his Wakrah side pick up from where they had left off from last season, but he had his own issues before the game, with doubts surrounding the registrations of Mohammed Benyettou, Gelson Dala, Lucas Mendes and new signing Trent Sainsbury. It was only on the eve of the game that those doubts were laid to rest. Benyettou did not make it to the squad, but Sainsbury marked the occasion with a goal on his debut, while Dala struck twice – the second goal being a brilliant effort that included him turning two Duhail defenders inside out.

For Duhail coach Hernan Crespo, making his QNB Stars League debut after a great showing in the AFC Champions League, this was a difficult start to the campaign but our feeling is that he will be able to move past this result and get the best out of his players.