El Jaish’s Brazilian attacker Wagner Renan Ribeiro spoke to qsl.com.qa ahead of the much anticipated clash between Al Gharafa and El Jaish in Round 5 of the Qatar Stars League.
 
El Jaish haven’t had the best start to the season with two draws and  two wins ; does the team feel more settled now after your last victory over Kharaitiyat?
We were very motivated for the new season and we were upset by our start, but we are happier now after our win over Kharaitiyat. Things are starting to go in the right direction and hopefully now we can put a good run of wins together.

How about your own performances so far this season?
My start to the season has been a little frustrating, I started the first game and then after that I got a small injury on my foot during a training session which kept me out of the other two matches.

I just came back in the last game against Al Kharaitiyat for the last 20 minutes, and I was a little lucky. I took the corner which led to our second goal and we won the match. So now I’m getting back my fitness thank Goodness. 



What’s your favourite position in the team?
In the last two years at El Jaish, I am playing as a striker. But this is not my natural position; normally I like to play behind the striker as a number 10. This is the position I enjoy, currently I move around a lot, sometimes I pop up on the left, sometimes on the right. I try to help as much as I can, and I aim to do my best in any position that the coach puts me in.

What would you say is the difference this year with regards to the squad?
Well, we got some new players; I think the team is more compact this season. We don’t lose the ball easily anymore. The new acquisitions are of a very good quality so I think we can go far this season. Normally we play 4-4-2 however in some games we have changed the system depending on our circumstances and our opponents.

How do you find the new Head Coach Sabri Lamouchi, what is he like and what is his coaching style?
He is a coach of a high quality, the players like him a lot. He is a very motivated and focused coach; he always gives 100% during the training sessions.  The players have a good connection with him and this helps us a lot during matches. We appreciate the player he was and the coach he is now. We try our best not only for us but for him also.



His philosophy is to keep the ball, and also to try and not make too many unforced errors.  We all know that the team who keeps the ball runs less, so the team chasing the ball gets tired more quickly. If you have the ball, then your opponent can’t hurt you.

How important is the game against Gharafa? They are currently just above you in the standings?
For us every game is important, but as they say, the next game is always the most important one. We know the quality of this new look Gharafa side. They started the league well but honestly we don’t respect some teams more than others, we are cautious of all teams in the QSL and we don’t underestimate any opponent. The players are very focused in getting all three points in Round 5.

Is it fair to say that the match against Gharafa will be the toughest so far?
As the stats show, they haven’t conceded any goals so far this season, so this means that their defence is working well and Gharafa will be hard to break down.

How do you think your team will approach the game?
Our quality is to attack, keep the ball up top where we can cause problems to our opponents, but every game is different.  We hope we can stamp our style on the match and try to open up Gharafa’s defence and score a goal or two.

Do you think the team has what it takes to win the league this season?
Every season our aim is to win, we have come close a number of times in the past and all the players are trying their hardest, I can assure you. This season will not be any different, we are going to try our best and we will try not to lose our concentration, right up until the end of the season. It’s not easy because the QSL improves season by season and the league this year is very competitive this year. Look at Al Rayyan for example, they were promoted and are now top of the standings. We have good quality players; we hope this is the season for us.