Al Rayyan’s Fahad Younes is one of the most prominent goalkeepers on the Qatar football scene. The 27-year-old is a mainstay in French coach Laurent Blanc’s scheme of things.

In an Exclusive Interview with qsl.qa ahead of the 2021-2022 season QNB Stars League first-leg Qatar Clasico between Al Rayyan and Al Sadd, Fahad gave his takes on an array of topics.

Excerpts:

What’s so special about the Qatar Clasico, in your opinion?

More than anything else, it’s a game for all to enjoy. It’s always a strong game, given that the teams involved are Al Rayyan and Al Sadd, the two big names in Qatar football. As players, we enjoy the game.

How do you look forward to the big date in QNB Stars League?

It’s not good to mostly play against a team that defends. Fortune fluctuates in Qatar Clasico. We lost in both legs in last season’s Clasico. But we had won both games in the 2019-2020 season. We hope to win this time.

How do you see the match against Al Sadd from a competition point of view?

Al Sadd are a big team with a large squad. But we’ll give off our best. We’re aware of injuries to some of their key players, but I don’t think it’ll have a big impact on their game. Similarly, we may also miss some players, but the available players are ready and I feel the result will be very close.

Al Rayyan haven’t won a big title for quite sometime. What’re your prospects in the new season?

True, we’re sore that we haven’t made it big in the recent times and we’re eager to put behind the disappointments. For sure, we deserve some silverware. We worked hard especially in the pre-season camp in Barcelona, Spain. We worked more on the physical aspects and the weather helped our cause. We aspire to achieve nothing less than a top-four finish in the league.

What’s the team composition like and how do you position yourself in coach Laurent Blanc’s scheme of things?

We now have a good group of players. The important thing is that our young players are shaping up well under Blanc. As a goalkeeper, I always believe I’m the one who’s responsible to organize the defence. For me, the goalkeeper is the team coach inside the pitch. My injury is a thing of the past and I’m working hard to make my way back into the Qatar national team.

Finally, how have you been influenced by your father?

My father (former Al Rayyan and Qatar international goalkeeper Younes Ahmed) is my idol. He has set many records. I know I can’t emulate him. It’s amazing to see how people respect him for his achievements. My wish is to come as close to him as possible in terms of performance.