Al Duhail Head Coach Christophe Galtier confirmed in the pre-match press conference held at Al Duhail club headquarters this evening, ahead of our team’s match versus Al Wakrah on Saturday, that Al Wakrah match will be a strong one against a direct competitor. He confirmed that he had monitored them closely and that they have many distinctive points, the most important of which is their good positioning on the field.
Galtier added, “The match comes after a long stoppage period for the league due to the international break, which was accompanied by the call-up of many of our players to join the national team. Now we seek to work on bringing our players back to focus again with the team starting from the next match versus Al Wakrah.”
He continued: “We had only 3 training sessions before facing Al Wakrah, as we performed a strong training session yesterday in the absence of some players who participated in the national team matches.”
Galtier said: “I asked the players to work hard and focus and assured them that things will not be easy. We know very well the strength of the upcoming matches, as we face Al Wakrah, then Al Sadd, and then the upcoming matches. We will work with full focus as we did from the beginning of the season and correct our mistakes, as we are well aware of the value and strength of the Stars League fixtures.”
Galtier also confirmed that the team has important matches in the league and that our players must play with team spirit and focus on showing a collective spirit. We have a lot at the individual and collective levels, which gives us the advantage to perform well.
Galtier also added that there is a big difference between the team last season and this season, as we have signed 9 or 10 new players out of 15 or 16 transfers between the positions of the team, unlike Al Wakrah, which has retained many of their players and is also competing in the AFC Champions League this season.
Commenting on the recent international break, Galtier confirmed the difficulty of integrating quickly, but the international break helped us prepare Michael Olunga and retrieve his services from injury, as he is now ready to participate in the matches. The international break helped me a lot in assessing the level of many players and using some young players in the QSL Cup fixtures.
When asked about the club latest signing, Frenchman Benjamin Bourigeaud, Galtier confirmed that Al Duhail Club President worked hard to help us change the team after a disappointing season.
He added: “As you know, Edmilson is now considered a local player after joining the national team, which prompted us to sign a professional player who can play in multiple positions in the attacking midfield, which is what we felt in Benjamin Bourigeaud, whom I have been following for a while. In the end and after a great effort, the Club President succeeded in convincing the management of his former club to agree to his departure and join our team.
