1.Yacine Brahimi (Al-Rayyan)
The 30 year old left winger from Algeria is one of the big names to feature in the QSL. As a talented youngster, he made his professional debut with Rennes. His playmaking and dribbling through the wings caught the attention of other European clubs. After a four year journey with Rennes in the Ligue 1, he joined La Liga club Granada in 2013.
Born and brought up in France, he played for France from U16 to U21 level. He was part of the French side for the 2009 U19 UEFA European Championship scoring 2 goals. Couple of years later he played the 2011 U21 edition. Brahimi signed for Portugese side Porto in 2014. He made more than 200 appearances for the club, scoring 54 goals and providing 43 assists. During his time with Porto, he had played in the UEFA Champions League sharing the dressing room with goalkeeping legend Iker Casillas.
Brahimi decided to play for his country of origin Algeria. He has made over 50 appearances for the national team and has played in the 2015, 2017 and 2019 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations. Algeria won the 2019 edition which also had the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani in its squad. In 2019, before Brahimi signed for Al-Rayyan he was the most valuable free agent (£ 18.9 million) at that time. In his very first season with them, he scored 15 goals and finished as the joint top scorer in QSL. For a man who has scored in top quality leagues like the Ligue 1, Liga Nos, La Liga and UEFA Champions League, he is the main player to watch out for in this AFC Champions League campaign.
Special mention :
Franck Kom (Al-Rayyan)
A defensive midfielder who has been a solid performer for the club. He has played in the German second division with Kahlsruher SC in the 2016-17 season. He previously played with Tunisian clubs ES Tunis and Étiole du Sahel winning the league 3 times with them. With ES Tunis, he had won the CAF Champions League twice which is the premier club competition for African clubs.
Yohan Boli (Al-Rayyan)
The forward from Ivory Coast has had a wide range of experience playing in Europe. He played for Belgian first division side Sint Truiden where he made 128 appearances scoring 43 goals. The 27 year old is also a member of the Ivory Coast National team. Having signed for Al-Rayyan in 2020, he already has 3 goals in 5 matches in the current season.
Vahid Amiri (Persepolis)
The Iranian footballer of the year 2018 is another notable player. The 32 year old winger has won 3 league titles with Persepolis. He was also a part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup squad for Iran. He has played in the 2015 and 2019 AFC Asian Cup and is one of the experienced players in the Persepolis side. He also played for Turkish club Trabzonspor in the 2018-19 season in which they made it to the Europa League qualifiers.
Kamal Kamyabiniya (Persepolis)
A mainstay for Persepolis, Kamal has had a silverware filled 5 years with the Iranian giants. The defensive midfielder has been a part of the side which won 4 back to back league titles from 2016-20.
Shoja’ Khalilzadeh (Al-Rayyan)
The Al-Rayyan centre back is one of the best defenders in the league. He won the Iranian league title with Sepahan in 2015. In 2017, he signed for Persepolis and won three back to back league titles. He has also been named the best centre back of the season in the AFC Champions League and Iran Pro League.
Omar Khribin (Al-Wahda)
The 27 year old forward is one of the best players in Syria. He has won the Saudi league with Al-Hilal and was a part of the AFC Champions League winning side in 2019. In 2017, he was named as the AFC footballer of the year becoming the first Syrian to do so. His goalscoring prowess is one to watch out. He was the top scorer in the 2017 Champions League. He recently signed for Al-Wahda and scored a brace in his very first match.
Lucas Pimenta (Al-Wahda)
The young centre back is making a name for himself in the UAE Gulf League. The 20 year old Brazilian joined the club in 2020 after spending his youth career at Botafago. Since then, he has become a regular starter for club.
Mohammad Sharifi (Persepolis)
The 20 year old midfielder is one of the rising talents in Iran. He was named as one of the best 60 young talents in world football by ‘ The Guardian ‘. He played in the AFC U16 Championship 2016 India in which Iran were runners up. He also played in the match against India in which Iran won 3-0.
Seyed Jalal Hosseini (Persepolis)
Persepolis is captained by Iranian legend Jalal Hosseini who is a centre back. He has vast experience in both domestic and international level. The defender has won 8 league titles with different clubs. He is also one of Iran’s most capped players, having won 115 caps throughout an international career spanning 11 years.He played in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and has been a part of the Iranian squad for the 2007, 2011 and 2015 AFC Asian Cup. One of the most experienced players in the team, Jalal Hosseini is still a regular starter for the club.
FC Goa has its task cut out in the AFC Champions League. All the teams in the group have good quality players and it wasn’t a surprise. The quality of the league which they will be encountering is something that Indian clubs seldom experience. There is no doubt that the group stage will be a challenging one and Goa need to be in good shape and mentality to compete with them. Nonetheless, it’s a good opportunity for the Indian side to be playing against some of the best in the continent which will help them to raise their game.
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