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Tribune News NetworkDohaThe Al Sadd football club on Monday officially unveiled their new coach Juan Manuel Lillo. Nicknamed “Juanma”, Lillo will supervise Al Sadd in the new Qatar football season 2022-2023, succeeding compatriot and former coach Javi Gracia.Lillo is a Spanish football manager who began coaching even before his 20s, and was the youngest manager in charge of a La Liga club Salamanca.Al Sadd Club officially presented Juanma at a press conference at the Al Attiyah Hall in the presence of Turki Al Ali, CEO of Al Sadd, and Mohamed Ghanem Al Ali, club’s head of football. Lillo has been signed as Al Sadd’s new coach for two seasons.Turki Al Ali welcomed Juanma, and wished all success to the Spanish coach and Al Sadd club, which always aspires to compete for all the championships in which it participates.Turki Al Ali said: “At Al Sadd, we have resorted to the Spanish school in recent years because it is commensurate with our style of play and capabilities of our players as also their skill and teamwork.”On the absence of international players from the beginning of the league campaign, Al Ali said: “It will give the opportunity for many young players to participate, as is usually the case with Al Sadd, which presents star players with a high level of performance.”Spanish coach Juanma confirmed that training Al Sadd is not only an opportunity to bring in his football experiences but also provides him with the chance to be with Al Sadd, given the great value that the club has in Qatar, the region and the Asian continent.Juanma said: “We will continue the work that the Spanish coaches at Al Sadd club have started in recent years, whether Xavi Hernandez or Javi Gracia. Qatari football and with Al Sadd Club in particular, it is an honour for me to be in this club.”On his goal and his philosophy, Juanma explained that the goal is always to achieve victories, and that the coach’s task is to always make the chances of winning greater. “I think that Al Sadd sought this matter by contracting with Xavi, and my philosophy in football is always to stay close to the opponent’s goal and this specifically increases the chances of winning.”Regarding the absence of the top players from the first seven rounds of the league championship who would be with the national team ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the coach said: “It is a problem, of course, and a challenge that must be dealt with, but at the same time it is an opportunity to learn about the capabilities of other players and give them opportunities to play and develop their level to increase the base of players who can be relied upon during the season.”The technical staff of coach Juanma consists of an assistant Anejo Domingos, Danny Xuta as a fitness coach, Pedro Pereira as a goalkeeper coach, and Adriano Teixeira as a technical analyst.The 56-year-old Juan Manuel Lillo has also worked as assistant to Pep Guardiola befre he decided to leave Premier League club Manchester City and take over as head coach at Al Sadd.Al Sadd would be playing Al Markhiya in their first match of the new Qatar Stars League season on August 1.
