08/08/2024【Feature】Dejan Damjanovic - Qatar Division 1 analysis

Dejan Damjanovic – Qatar Division 1
Dubbed “Asia’s Ibra” by FC Seoul fans for a playing style similar to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Dejan Damjanovic is the highest-scorer ever in ACL with 42 goals and spent a long and fruitful career in Asian football leagues such as SPR, KD1 , CSL and HKPL.

Al Sadd favourites to retain Qatar Division 1 title
I see the Qatar Stars League as one of the best in Asia, with many top players moving there, so it should be an exciting season ahead.

Defending champions Al Sadd have strengthened by signing midfielder Mohamed Camara from Monaco and Spanish forward Rafa Mujica from the Portuguese league. They join a talented squad featuring Brazilian Guilherme and Colombian Mateus Uribe.

But I believe what sets them apart is the quality of their Qatari players because many of the national team play at Al Sadd. Akram Afif was the league’s top scorer last season and fired Qatar to the Asian Cup – undoubtedly one of Asia’s best players!

I see Al Duhail as Al Sadd’s closest challengers. They’ve signed real quality in attacking midfielder Luis Alberto from Lazio, while Almoez Ali and Michael Olunga are both sure to score many goals. After finishing sixth last season, I expect a big improvement.

Al Rayyan could also compete at the top. Former Spain international Rodrigo is one of their star players and Roger Guedes was the QSL’s third-highest scorer last season so, again, great forward options.

Al Gharafa signed Joselu from Real Madrid after he scored important goals to help them win Champions League. And winger Yacine Brahimi has been one of the QSL’s top performers for many seasons, so perhaps they have a small chance to challenge.

The league has many other huge names – Marco Verratti (Al Arabi), Javi Martinez (Qatar SC) and Julian Draxler (Al Ahli) but while I think these teams can upset the big teams in a single match, it’s hard to sustain it over a season because their squads are weaker.

And, for me, that’s the key difference. You see talented foreigners across the league but the best Qatari players are at the top sides, which gives them much greater balance. This is why I’d tip Al Sadd for the title, but I hope others such as Al Duhail, Al Rayyan and Al Gharafa can challenge.

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