Why We Are Playing Eaglets. Al Sadd Manager.

Mallam Mohammed Saeed Al Hassan, one of the pillars behind Qatari foremost club, Al Sadd has spoken candidly about the rationale behind Friday’s friendly game against the Nigerian Under-17 team.

The Golden Eaglets have caught the admiration of the local fans in Doha after they beat a team of the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence 7-1 penultimate week.

Al Hassan, reckons that the Nigerian youngsters would be a perfect match for Al Sadd which incidentally, came fourth during last season’s Qatar Stars League.

“We are happy to have the Nigerian Under-17 team here in Qatar and frankly, we want to play against a very strong team that we have seen already,” stated Al Hassan who doubles as the Acting Branch Manager of Doha Bank located inside the Aspire Academy.

“We selected this team because they are a very strong group with good quality; irrespective of their age, we know that we are going to play against a very good team on Friday.”

Though Al Sadd is using the game to test the readiness of their players ahead of the new Qatari League season, the match according to Al Hassan would be significant in more ways to the Golden Eaglets especially with the star appearance of former Real Madrid’s captain, Raul Gonzalez.

“For us at Al Sadd, we want to be ready for the new league season but I think the Nigerian young players are going to benefit more,” Al Hassan further explained.

“We really want to motivate the Nigerian players by giving them the opportunity to feature against one of the greatest players in football history that is Raul Gonzalez.

“Raul is an exemplary player and the Nigerian players can also learn from him too. He is an intelligent player and to be on the same pitch with him would be a great memory for these young players, “he added.

Meanwhile, the eagerly awaited match would kick off at 6:30pm local time (4:30pm Nigerian time) at the posh 15,000 capacity Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium which is regarded as one of the best in the Middle East.