Arabi’s Khalfan raring to go against his old club Sadd

Doha: Al Arabi’s star forward Khalfan Ibrahim is raring to go against his old team Al Sadd and coach  Qais Yaakoubi says the 29-year-old is very motivated to do well in the Qatar derby on Friday.

“Khalfan is very motivated. Not just because he’s playing against his old team, but this year it’s a big challenge for him. To be a new Khalfan, to be the Khalfan of old times,” Yaakoubi told Doha Stadium Plus Online on Thursday.

“He works hard, he instills confidence in other players because he has many years of experience playing at a top club, said Yaakoubi.

After playing for Sadd for 13 years, Khalfan started his QNB Stars League campaign for Arabi in scintillating fashion, scoring a stunning individual goal against Al Sailiya in their opening match.

Though Arabi have failed to impress as a team, losing three of the four matches, Khalfan has shown glimpses of his old magical touch and Yaakoubi said it would take some three-four weeks for the former Qatar forward to regain his top physical fitness.

 “Physically Khalfan is not 100 percent because he played just four or five matches last year and it will take three-four weeks more for him to be at his top level,” he said.

The Tunisian coach said though Sadd are a very strong team, beating them is not impossible.

“Sadd are a very strong side with star players, such as Xavi Hernandez, Jugurtha Hamroun, Baghdad Bounedjah and Boualem Khoukhi. But we believe we have a chance to win this match,” said Yaakoubi. “We’ve financial problems, so we can’t sign many big players. We need more time to perform as a team. And we need to avoid making mistakes.”