Al Sadd Star Akram Afif Warns Persepolis

Leading scorer Baghdad Bounedjah and Spanish superstar Xavi may have hogged the headlines as Al Sadd reached the AFC Champions League semi-final, but it is young Qatari talent Afif who has been one of the real success stories of the Doha club’s continental campaign.

And according to the 21-year-old forward, who was recently named AFC Champions League Player of the Week, the best is very much still to come.

“I am very happy with my progress, which has been aided by the coaching staff and my teammates,” Afif, who netted in both legs of the quarter-final as Al Sadd defeated Tehran’s Esteghlal 5-3 on aggregate, said in an interview with Qatari site Gulf Times.

“My performance is improving from game to game and I always strive for the best. We are delighted to go through to the semi-final, despite having a tough time against Esteghlal. Seven of our players were away from the team during the pre-match preparations, due to international commitments,” he added.

“We could only come together just four days before the game. But we managed to deal with the game in the proper way and kept hold of our advantage from the first leg. We are now focusing on preparation for the big game against Persepolis in the AFC Champions League semi-finals,” he added.