Al Duhail’s South Korean midfielder Nam Tae-Hee is among the best plying their trade in the QNB Stars League. Last season’s Most Valuable Player award was a clear proof of his great skills, potential and talent.

Ahead of Al Duhail’s Week 14 encounter against Al Rayyan on 27th January, the question doing the rounds is whether they will continue their unbeaten run.

In an exclusive interview with QSL Online, Nam shed light on various topics.

How do you prepare for the Al Rayyan match?

It’ll be tough for both sides. We’ll attempt to play our natural game.

What’s so special about this game?

We’ve been putting up good performances this season and we want to keep winning. This match is crucial because the difference between us now is only four points, which can be raised to seven.

Are Al Duhail capable of repeating the victory over Al Rayyan in the first phase?

In that match, we played very well in the first half, but didn’t have a great second session and that made things difficult for ourselves. It’s hard to predict the result as both sides have top players in their ranks. I believe even small details play crucial roles in matches like this.

Which player worries you the most in Al Rayyan?

Al Rayyan are a big name and have a number of quality players with huge potential. But I believe Tabata is their most dangerous player. Then, there’re Abderrazaq Hamdallah and our former team-mate Sebastian Soria. However, they’ll miss the services of midfielder Daniel Gomou.

What’re the strengths and weaknesses of both teams?

We conceded many goals in the first phase, but I’m not blaming our defenders. Our defence has improved a lot in the second phase.

As I said, Al Rayyan will miss Daniel Goumou. But then, they’ve dangerous free-kick specialists in Tabata and Hamdallah.

Can Al Duhail’s forward line overcome Al Rayyan’s strength?

It’s a difficult question to answer. In our last game against Al Arabi, neither me and Youssef El Arabi nor Youssef Msakny scored goals. The only goal was scored by midfielder Karim Boudiaf.

What’s the reason behind the narrow-margin victory over Al Arabi?

Of course, we can’t present our best in all games. Also, I don’t believe that our performance was low. We managed to control the ball and put pressure on the rivals. And we missed five or six opportunities.

How difficult is Al Duhail’s pursuit for the title?

Difficulties are there in each week. But if we beat Al Rayyan, then it’ll be a huge step towards the title.

Who else are the title contenders?

Definitely Al Sadd and Al Rayyan.

There’s an opinion that your performance isn’t as good as that in the previous season?

I believe I’m doing well in scoring and helping my team-mates. However, the most important thing is performance of the team.

How do you foresee your performance in the coming fixtures?

Al Duhail are the best team in Qatar. We’ll try to keep up the reputation of Qatar football while playing in the AFC Champions League.

Finally, what message would you like to give fans?

I would like to urge the club’s fans to come to the venue and support us in every game, especially against Al Rayyan. Fans are a crucial factor in football.