Al Sadd Club announced the appointment of Spaniard Felix Sanchez as coach of the club's first football team, starting in the new season 2024-2025 with a contract extending for two seasons.
The Ecuadorian Football Federation had announced Sanchez's departure from coaching the team, after losing to Argentina on penalties in the quarter-finals of the 2024 Copa America in the United States of America.
Al Sadd Club said in a statement on its official website: ‘Felix Sanchez will begin his duties with the first team, starting today, Tuesday, at the team’s camp in the Spanish city of Malaga’.
Al Sadd played a third friendly match at the overseas training camp, which comes as part of its preparations for the new season and the Qatar Stars League, against Spanish team Las Palmas at the Marbella football center in Malaga.
Al Sadd recently also achieved a 3-2 win over South African team Orland Pirates in a friendly at the preparatory camp.
Sanchez will take over the task of coaching Al Sadd, succeeding national coach Wissam Rizk, who guided the team to achieving a double of winning the Qatar Stars League and the HH The Amir Cup titles before he left to coach the Iraqi Air Force team.
Sanchez had previously coached Qatar’s first national football team, and the team played 81 international matches under his leadership, winning 41 of them, drawing 13 matches, and losing 27.
Sanchez led the team to winning the 2019 Asian Cup, for the first time in history, in the tournament hosted by the UAE.
He also led Al Annabi in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, then left to coach the Ecuadorian national team.
Al Sadd are looking forward to the Ooredoo Stars League title in the new season, and also competing strongly in the AFC Champions League Elite, and their fans hope that Sanchez will contribute with his experience to achieving the goals and ambitions that the club seeks to achieve