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Posted in: Saturday, August 13, 2022 – 2:06 PM | Last update: Saturday August 13, 2022 – 2:06 PM
Former French football star Marcel Desailly, who won the 1998 World Cup with his country, stressed the importance of the upcoming World Cup in Qatar at the end of this year, noting that it will bring about a major transformation in the State of Qatar and the entire region..
With the countdown to 100 days to the start of the World Cup competitions, which is being held for the first time in the Arab world, and the world’s attention is directed to Qatar, Dousay talked about the impact that the tournament will have on the peoples in Qatar and the region around it, and also gave his advice to the Annabi players who represent the host country. And they will play on their home ground and in the midst of their fans.
Desailly praised the Qatar World Cup as the most closely spaced version in the modern history of the tournament, as the maximum distance between stadiums does not exceed 75 km, which will benefit players and fans, as he put it.
He added: “The Qatar World Cup is a distinct version of the World Cup, where four matches will be held in one day within a limited geographical scope, and fans will be able to visit many amazing tourist places in Qatar or travel to neighboring countries on rest days between matches. Also, the convergence of distances will be In the interest of the teams and players, they will have the opportunity to take a sufficient rest between matches, with short distances, no need to travel by air, and they will be able to stay in the same accommodation and use the same training sites throughout the tournament.”
On the importance of holding the tournament for the first time in the Arab world and the Middle East; Desailly explained that it is very important to organize the World Cup in different places of the world, and said, “We witnessed it in South Africa in 2010, and it is time to host it in the Middle East this time, especially with the establishment of infrastructure that will boost the economy in Qatar, whether It was stadiums, roads, tunnels, etc.”
He continued, “I feel very happy that children and youth in the Arab world and the Middle East will witness the organization of the tournament in their region for the first time, after following its competitions in other parts of the world. I am very excited to see them live the experience of this region hosting the World Cup for the first time in the history of the tournament.”
Regarding his participation with the roosters team in the World Cup in France in 1998, and the importance of his attendance at that global event in his country, Dousay confirmed that France’s hosting of the World Cup was a huge event accompanied by a lot of enthusiasm, which is usually associated with participation and attendance at the tournament.
He added: “The Football World Cup is the largest sporting event in the world and is unmatched by any other tournament. France’s hosting of the World Cup had a clear impact that was reflected in many sectors and aspects of life in the country.”
On winning the championship cup in France, Desailly said: “I must admit that I did not realize the importance of that at first, but I felt the importance of winning the World Cup after my retirement from football, as the fans talked to me about winning the championship cup every day, and not a day passes without mentioning that, the coronation The World Cup gives me a lot of energy and that’s very nice.”
Regarding the moment of announcing Qatar’s winning of the right to host the 2022 World Cup, Desailly said: “I was in France at that time, and I was overwhelmed with feelings of happiness when I learned that the region would finally witness the world championship, which would contribute to an important transformation, and I was very pleased that the world would learn about the Middle East. widely through football.
The former French football star talked about his expectations for the performance of the Qatari team, which will participate in the World Cup for the first time in its history; Pointing out that the Annabi players face a great challenge, but they can overcome it by controlling the pressure on them, and said: “The Qatar national team will participate in the tournament at home and with the huge support of its fans, but the players have to deal with the enormous pressures that may accompany that, and focus The players should take advantage of the enthusiastic atmosphere that the fans will create, but to a degree that does not push them to make mistakes that may cause a lack of control over the course of the match on the field.”
Desailly has enjoyed a busy career in the world of football, in which he won many titles with the French clubs Marseille, the Italian AC Milan, and the English Chelsea. He also defended the colors of his country in more than 100 matches, and was a key player in the French national team that won the World Cup and the European Championship.
Dosaiy is a familiar star for Qatar fans. He ended his football career after playing for Al-Gharafa and Qatar clubs, and won the Qatar Stars League title with Al-Gharafa Club, nicknamed the Panthers, in the 2004-2005 season.
It is noteworthy that the French team is competing in the World Cup Qatar 2022 in the fourth group, which includes the teams of Australia, Denmark and Tunisia. Education City Stadium on November 30, at the conclusion of the group stage competitions.