The Spanish coach of Al Rayyan, Vicente Moreno, confirmed that the team is ready to face Lusail in the opening match of the Doha Bank Stars League. Speaking during the press conference held ahead of the match, he said: “We are looking forward to starting the new season and the new league; because honestly for us, the pre-season was very good, and the players worked excellently. I am very happy with them, but we want to compete, we want to play official matches, and ultimately start the league. You have to be ambitious. We are at a big club, which is Al Rayyan, and I always say the same thing: big clubs must compete for big objectives. I know that last season we won two trophies, and it is very difficult to improve upon last season, but our goal must be to improve and exceed what we delivered last season.”
He added: “I want to think differently. I believe this league is very short, and it is very important to start the league, if possible, with a win in the first match. My focus is entirely on the first match against Lusail. I want to point out that it will be a very difficult match; because Lusail has built a good team as well. However, I believe it is very important—even though our goals are very clear—that we take it step by step, and focus only on the first match, and I want my players to think the same way.”
He concluded his statements with a message to the Al Rayyan fans, saying: “We want trust in us, because we are here for them, and we want to achieve big challenges for their sake. I hope we play at our best level in all competitions. We work for them, and I only ask them to trust us.”