El Jaish headed into the 2015/2016 QSL season with plenty of confidence under the stewardship of French coach Sabri Lamouchi. The soldiers moved quickly in the summer transfer window to secure the services of promising Uzbeki winger Sardor Rashidov and Moroccan striker Abdulrazak Hamdallah. The duo would promise to be a shrewd bit of business by El Jaish.




 El Jaish started the season in fine form. Six wins from the opening seven games certainly suggested that Sabri Lamouchi’s boys meant business. Impressive wins against Al Gharafa (4-1) and Al Arabi (4-0) showed attacking flair and a resolution at the back that suggested that El Jaish could be dark horses in a title race.

Two of the leagues unbeaten sides in El Jaish and Al Rayyan faced off in round 10, which promised to be a true test of Jaish’s title credentials. The tie look set for a 1-1 draw before Rodrigo Tabata scored a stunning late winner to give Jaish their first defeat of the season.
Jaish wobbled following their first defeat of the league and registered a further two defeats to Qatar SC (1-0) and Umm Salal (3-2). They soon got back to winning ways and ended the first half of the season with three straight wins including an impressive 4-2 victory over Al Sadd. Romarinho, Rashidov and Hamdulaah all scored in a performance which showed that El Jaish could be confident of a title tilt in the second half of the season.



The second half of the season didn’t start well , with Al Khor inflicting a shock 1-0 defeat in late January. With the club focusing on the AFC Champions League, domestic form tailed off  particularly against top four rivals and teams in the lower reaches of the league. Draws to Al Gharafa (2-2) and practically relegated Meisameer (1-1) highlighted a lack of squad depth needed to fight on both fronts. Whilst a 3-0 defeat to rivals Lekhiwya and a shock 2-0 defeat to Al Arabi put El Jaish’s title ambitions on hold in early March.

Summer signing Abdulrazak Hamdallah was undoubtingly Jaish’s star man this season. The Moroccan international bagged 21 goals in the league, sharing the Mansor Muftah award with Rodrigo Tabata. Whilst the striker also popped up with crucial goals in the AFC Champions League and the winner in the Emir Cup final against Lekhwiya.

With the title all but lost Sabri Lamouchi’s focus turned to the domestic competitions.  Afterall last season the side had lost in both the Emir Cup and Qatar Cup finals, revenge was on their mind.

First up in the Qatar Cup, a Hamdallah inspired Jaish helped his side to the final after beating Al Sadd 3-2 in a entertaining game. The Moroccan had a hand in two goals as Jaish reached their third consecutive Qatar Cup final against Lekhwiya. After suffering defeat in the previous season, Jaish exacted revenge with a 2-1 win. With Hamdallah again on hand to dispatch a late penalty to assure silverware for El Jaish and  to claim the Qatar Cup for the second time in their history.





However in the Emir Cup, Sabri Lamouchi’s side lost out to eventual winners Lekhwiya in the semifinal.

The Red Knights took revenge coming from behind to register a 2-1 win. Despite missing out on the Emir Cup, Jaish can draw plenty of positives from the 2015/2016 season. Key signings in Rashidov and Hamdallah have pushed Jaish to the next level and the winning of the Qatar Cup will make this side hungry for more success during the 2016/2017 season.