◤FIFA World Cup in Qatar◢ Qatar Football Association part ways with the country's Spanish national team head coach Félix Sánchez following a disastrous campaign..

2023-01-01 18:53

◤FIFA World Cup in Qatar◢  Qatar Football Association part ways with the country




Qatar Football Association has announced on its official website on Saturday that they had decided not to continue to continue working with the country's Spanish national team head, Félix Sánchez with immediate effect.


According to the official statement of the Qatar Football Association, the contract signed between Sánchez and the Qatar Football Association had officially expired after December 31, 2022, and both parties have reached a mutual agreement to part ways. The authorities had began the process of searching for a new head coach and an announcement of the candidate will be made in due course.


Although both parties have confirmed that they will no longer work together, Qatar Football Association Preisdent Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani still did not forget to thank Sánchez for his past contributions and said: "Félix is not only our coach, but also our friend. The Qatari football family will always be grateful for the success he has brought to Qatari football over the years. Félix will always have a special place in our hearts and we hope he will always consider Qatar his home."


Likewise, Sánchez also wrote emotionally through the official website of the Qatar Football Association for the last time after the news came out that: "The past five-and-a-half years of working for the Qatar national team have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. I would just like to take this opportunity to thank the Qatar Football Association, President Sheikh Hamad and the leaders of the country for the trust and support they have given me during a time when we have achieved a lot together. Qatar, its people and its football will always remain in my heart. Now It’s a good time for someone else to take on the responsibilities of this team, and it’s a good time for me to explore new challenges.”


Although the way both the Qatar FA and Sánchez said upon their parting ways were rhetoric, according to people familiar with the matter, the reason why the Qatar FA chose not to work with with Sánchez anymore is not only because the latter wants to seek new challenges, but the fact that the country's national team who couldn't win in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar that had just passed and became the worst host country in World Cup history had a huge relation to this decision. Some people even broke the news that the original goal of the Qatari government, including the royal family, was to hope that Qatar could emulate the same achievement as South Korea did in the 2002 by reaching the semi-finals.


Sánchez, 47, was born in Barcelona on December 13, 1975. Having never had a career as a player, he joined the Barcelona's La Masia Youth Training Center as a coach in 1996, during which he trained many Barça legends such as the likes of Andres Iniesta, Jordi Alba, Victor Valdes, Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique, Leo Messi and so on.


In the summer of 2006, Sánchez resolutely decided to accept the posiion of coach of the Aspire Academy, which was funded by the Qatari government, and then transferred to the post of head coach of the Qatar U19s, U20s and U23s youth national teams from 2013 to 2016.


In the summer of 2017, Sánchez took over as head coach of the senior Qatar national team.


As the coach of the Qatar national team, Sánchez's results were actually quite good, during which led the team into 89 games in all competitions, mustering 46 wins, 16 draws and 27 losses, with a winning percentage of 51.7% and even won the 2019 Asian Cup.