Al Duhail coach Luis Castro spoke to the media ahead of their 2021-2022 season QNB Stars League Week 1 match against Al Khor.

“Playing the first match of the new season against Al Khor will be a difficult task. However, we are looking forward to this match. We want to collect three points. We have a distinguished squad which is strong and well-organized.

“I am very happy to be in Qatar for the QNB Stars League. I am working on the team each day. We have a strong squad that is keen on winning titles. I had the same attitude when I was with FC Shakhtar Donetsk (of Ukraine).

“We, as technical staff and players, have a great responsibility in the first match of the new season because it will not be easy. Yes, we have worked hard with the players in the off-season. We will do everything that is in the interest of the team. We must know that there are a number of Al Duhail players with the national team who did not participate in the pre-season training. Physically, they are ready to play with us and we have some players in the Qatar Olympic squad also. As a coach, I see this as a positive thing when the national teams depend on your club players,” said Castro.

Al Duhail player Luis Martin Jr said, “I can say confidently that we are very motivated to face Al Khor in the opening round of the new season. Our team has been preparing hard to regain the title this season.

“We must realize that football in Qatar has changed a lot and we, at Al Duhail, must change the image we presented to our fans in the previous season with regards to winning titles. We must regain the league title and then aim at winning tournaments, especially the Asian Champions League.

“We have a team that knows the shortest path to the goal. We learned a lot from previous seasons and we will strive to correct all mistakes made last season.”