Afif, Sanchez and Barsham led the way in a dominant award night for domestic champions Al Sadd.
Akram Afif was awarded the season’s best player on a night his club and Qatar Stars League champions Al Sadd dominated at the Qatar Football Association’s annual awards.
Head coach Felix Sanchez and goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham were adjudged best in their respective categories alongside Afif for their instrumental roles in Al Sadd’s domestic double as well as the quarter-final run at the revamped AFC Champions League Elite.
Afif netted 18 goals and provided for a further 15 in 22 matches at the Ooredoo Stars League, ending the season with 45 goal involvements for Al Sadd in all competitions. It was the reigning Asian Player of the Year‘s second consecutive Best Player Award and fifth overall.
“Thank you all, the best is yet to come,” Afif said after receiving the night’s showpiece award, sidelining Al Shamal’s Baghdad Bounedjah and Al Ahli’s German midfielder Julian Draxler.
Al Sadd’s tactician Sanchez, meanwhile, was handed the Best Coach award for completing the domestic double in his first season after returning to Qatar. It was a dramatic turnaround for the Spaniard whose side had lost three in the first five league games.
The Spaniard’s charges, however, came clutch to dash Al Duhail and claim the league title by two points before going on to claim the Qatar Cup trophy.
One of his side’s constant performers who helped to steady the ship was shot-stopper Barsham, who was awarded the inaugural best goalkeeper award. The 27-year-old kept 10 clean sheets in 19 appearances in the league.
Preventing Al Sadd’s clean sweep on the night was Al Rayyan’s Brazilian forward Roger Guedes and Al Shamal’s Mohammed Al-Mannai.
Guedes clinched the Mansour Muftah trophy — given to the league’s highest scorer — after finishing the season with 21 goals in an Al Rayyan side that struggled to find rhythm all year long, culminating in the Amir Cup final defeat on Saturday.
Defensive midfielder Al-Mannai, on the other hand, was crowned as the league’s best young player, having thrived in Al Shamal’s midfield. The 21-year-old is also included in new head coach Julen Lopetegui’s Qatar squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers games against Iran and Uzbekistan.
The glitzy ceremony at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center began with a special honor and a posthumous Medal of Dedication award to former Qatar national team players Ali Mohamed Al-Ali and Ahmed Omar.
Similarly, Al Sadd’s fans won the inaugural Best Fans award, while Qatar Stars League’s Negdar Initiative clinched the Football for All award. Referees Mohammed Al-Shammari, Khaled Khalaf, Juma Al-Borshaid, and Abdulrahman Al-Jassim were deemed the best refereeing crew.
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