Daily Times

DOHA: Hernan Crespo’s first season as coach of Al-Duhail in Qatar could not have gone much better, with the former Argentina striker still on course for a domestic quadruple after clinching a second trophy in the space of 10 days on Thursday. Qatar is proving fertile territory for Argentines, after their World Cup victory in December, and Crespo’s Al-Duhail are chasing a clean sweep of domestic silverware. His side beat arch rivals Al-Sadd 2-0 on Thursday to win the Qatar Cup final, after winning the Qatar Stars cup on March 28 with a 1-0 victory over Umm Salal.

Al-Duhail are also top of the Qatar Stars League, two points ahead of closest rivals Al-Arabi with a game in hand with a month remaining in the season. They have also reached the quarter-finals of the Emir of Qatar Cup, and will face Al-Sailiya next Monday. It has not been all plain sailing for Crespo, whose team suffered a humiliating 7-0 loss at home to Saudi Arabian champions Al-Hilal in February, as they played in the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League for the first time. Yet having refocused on the domestic front, things have gone from strength to strength for the Argentine. “We achieved the first title, but there are still other titles and we will all compete with full force,” said the former AC Milan, Inter Milan and Chelsea striker, after his first title in Qatar last month. Crespo’s coaching career has included spells in Italy, Argentina and Brazil, winning the Copa Sudamericana with Argentina’s Defensa y Justicia and the Brazilian Paulista title with Sao Paulo in 2021.