Al-Sadd Sports Club

Football club infobox
clubname = Al-Sadd Sports Club


fullname = Al-Sadd Sports Club
nickname =
founded = 1969
ground = Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium
Doha, Qatar
capacity = 18,000
chairman =
manager = flagicon|Brazil Émerson Leão
league = Qatar National First Division
season = 2006/07
position = 1st
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=| leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=FFFFFF|rightarm1=FFFFFF|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=FFFFFF
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=000000|body2=111111|rightarm2=000000|shorts2=111111|socks2=111111

The Al-Sadd Sports Club ( _ar. نادي السد القطري‎) is a sports club, best known for its football team of the Qatar National First Division from Doha, Qatar.The club goes with the Nickname "Al Zaeem" which translates to "The Boss" and was founded by students on the 21 October 1969 in Qatar's capital city. Al Sadd is undoubtedly the country's most successful team.

History

The club was founded by four students who played excellent football. They refused to join other clubs of the time and decided to make their own club, resulting in the formation of Al-Sadd Sports Club on 21 October 1969 in Doha.

The club won the first ever Qatari League in 1973-74. It along with Al-Arabi and Al-Rayyan went on to dominate Qatari football in the 70's and the 80's winning many Qatari League trophies and Emir Cups. In 1989 Al-Sadd became the first Arab side to win the Asian Champions League when they defeated Al Rasheed of Iraq in the final.

The 1990s were a lean phase for Al-Sadd regarding the Qatari 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.

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.In 2007 they achieved a quadruple by winning all four domestic cups. They were the first Qatari team to do so.

Stadium

The matches are played in the state-of-the-art Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, whose capacity adds up to 18,000 including VIP stands. Such a capacity reflects the demand expected from the Qatari population which has yet to reach 1 million. The stadium originally built in 1974, was rebuilt in 2004 for the Gulf Cup. The stadium has a unique atmosphere, and being close to the city centre it attracts fans. For these reasons, the Qatar national football team plays its matches in the stadium.

Al Saad Stadium is an exact replica of Old Trafford.

Successes

*Asian Clubs Cup: 11988

*Gulf Club Champions Cup: 11991

*Arab Champions League: 12001

*Qatar National First Division: 111974, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007

*Emir of Qatar Cup: 131975, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007

*Qatar Crown Prince Cup: 41998, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008

*Qatar Sheikh Jassem Cup: 31992, 2006, 2007

The club's greatest triumph was winning of the Asian Clubs Cup:1988. Al Sadd was the first Arabic team to win this competition.

Al-Sadd commences trials.List of players for trial.

1 Dor Malul2 Sylvan Ebanks-Blake3 Michal Svec4 Bogdan Stancu5 Christopher Samba6 Mika Aaritalo7 Jukka Lehtovarra

Performance in AFC Competitions

* AFC Champions League: 6 appearances::2002-03: Group Stage::2004: Group Stage::2005: Quarter-Finals::2006: Group Stage::2007: Group Stage::2008: Group Stage
* 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

Current management team

Current squad

Out on loan

Famous players

Al-Sadd brought many famous players from around the world to the Qatari League in the last decade.

Algeria
* Lakhdar Belloumi
* Billel DziriArgentina
* Mauro ZárateBrazil
* Romário
* Sergio RicardoCôte d'Ivoire
* Abdul Kader KeïtaEcuador
* Carlos TenorioFrance
* Frank LeboeufGhana
* Abédi PeléIran
* Ali Daei
* Karim Bagheri
* Hamid Derakhshan
* Amir Ghalenoei
* Majid Namjoo-Motlagh
* Hossein KaebiMorocco
* Youssef ChippoNigeria
* Victor Ikpeba
* John UtakaOman
* Khalifa Ayil
* Mohamed RabiaSenegal
* Dame N'DoyeSlovenia
* Fabijan CipotTogo
* Lantame OuadjaTunisia
* flagicon|BRA Jose Clayton

Other Sports

Besides football the club also has teams for handball, basketball, volleyball, table tennis and athletics.

External links

Al-Sadd's new official website was launched on April 3, 2008 by club vice-chairman Abdul Aziz Rabban.
* [http://www.al-saddclub.com/ Official website]
* [http://forums.alsaddclub.com/ Official fan forum]
* [http://www.myalsadd.tk/ www.myalsadd.tk-Unofficial fan site in Arabic & English]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=IRp8vozd_jE] Good Video
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=C_Xduv8TCKE] Awesome Video
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=BjzwokRKb30] Video