Al Ahli midfield maestro Mojtaba Jabbari joined the brigadiers last season and has become the fulcrum of the team.  In the 2013/14 season the Iranian scored 5 goals and created 9 assists.

Al Ahli who had just got promoted in the 2013/14 season not only survived in the Qatar Stars League but positively flourished finishing a respectable 6^th.

This term Jabbari has got three assists and 3 goals so far and the Iranian has also has an uncanny knack of scoring important goals in crucial moments of the game. In round 11 he scored the vital goals in an incredible come back against Al Arabi. 

QSL online managed to get in a few questions from this honest and hardworking midfielder. He spoke of his retirement from international football as well as the Green’s hopes of winning some silverware come the end of the season.

This is your second season in the QSL and we are almost at the half way point. How do you think your team will do for the rest of the season?
This season has been very difficult because there have been many stoppages due to the Gulf Cup and soon the 2015 Asian Cup will take place.  Last season we had a match pretty much every week and so there was a certain rhythm that we all got used to.

This season it has been harder to keep our momentum and concentration. However all the teams in the QSL are in the same boat as us, we now have a few more games before the league stops again.

I think after the Asian Cup in Australia then things will improve and we can start playing more regularly. However we haven’t done too badly, we are in 6^th position with 20 points. If we continue like this then hopefully we can get into the top four at the end of the season.

Last season you established yourself as a central figure in the squad, a lot of fans now look to you to lead the team. How do you deal with this pressure?
Firstly this is positive pressure and so it motivates me do try and do better. Last season everyone respected us because we gathered lots of points. I am happy to take on that responsibility and so far I think I am doing well.

Personally I want to do better than I did last season because I didn’t have much time to prepare before. Last season I only started playing from round 4 onwards but his season I had more time to prepare. However because of all of the stoppages in the season it has been difficult and so we have to play a lot of friendly matches to keep our focus.

Our top players are very important for us we don’t have a lot of strength and depth on the bench like some of the other big clubs so we have to hope that our big players can stay away from injuries. But so far we haven’t been very lucky.

You have been here now for one season already, how would your rate the Qatar Stars League? 
I think the quality of football here is good, I enjoy playing here. The ball is on the ground, you very rarely see the long ball being used. In Iran sometimes the pitch quality isn’t as good and this can affect the enjoyment of the game.

Here also in the winter the weather conditions are perfect for football, also the referees here are very quick to punish bad play.

I am happy to be here at Al Ahli because I think we have a very good midfield here and most of the time we keep position of the ball well. This season I have noticed that other teams are a little more afraid of us and they go back and try to defend more. So this season we have a slightly new challenge. 

Lastly, the Asian Cup is soon to kick-off in Australia, would you consider coming out of retirement and joining up with the national team?
I retired before the World Cup and as you know that tournament is the biggest in the football world, it’s a dream for all players. Considering my age, it was better for me to let some younger players to have a chance to go to the World Cup that’s why I retired before the World Cup.

I already had a contract with Al Ahli and I felt it was best to give some younger Iranian players an opportunity to go to the World Cup to show what they can do and hopefully get spotted and taken by some big clubs.

So with regards to the Asian Cup, I really don’t think I will come out of retirement but I wish my country the best of luck.