Despite not having yet conquered either of the two great titles longed for by Al Sadd, the QSL and the AFC Champions League, Xavi Hernandez he could not have started his career on the bench better. In just over 12 months, the Catalan has already achieved three titles with Al Sadd. The last, a Qatar Cup -Oordedoo Cup for sponsorship reasons- that the Doha team raised after beating Marc Muniesa's Al Arabi 0-4. Santi Cazorla, who debuted his record in Asia, scored one of the goals.
The Spanish Kitchee Armada also played metal, which rose against all odds with the Hong Kong Premier League. The blue box needed to beat Happy Valley and hope that Eastern did not beat Guangzhou R&F. The two requirements were met and the goalkeeper coach Roberto Sambade and the footballers Dani Cancela, Manu Bleda and Manu Gavilán took the gold from a competition reduced as a result of the Covid-19. As a reward, Kitchee will be in the next edition of the AFC Champions League.
It wasn't a bad weekend either for Fernando Rodriguez. The Andalusian forward from the Johor FC affiliate made his debut for the Malaysian first team and took the opportunity to score a goal and give away an assist. The southern tigers, who visited Melaka United with the league title in their pocket, finished the season undefeated after thrashing (0-5) on the last day. Rodríguez, who is nicknamed 'the matador', has already scored seven goals with Johor II, with whom he competes in the Malaysian Second Division.
He also marked, although in Thailand, Andrew Tunisia. The Spanish-Venezuelan center-back scored Pathum United's only goal in the victory over Buriram United, the club he has played for for the past six years. Toti from Salamanca also started in what was Pathum's sixth consecutive victory in the Thai League. After chaining seven victories and a draw in the first eight days, the rabbits lead the table with 22 points.
Although it is complicated, Avispa Fukuoka has a greater number of victories in the Second Division of Japan. The team of Jon Ander Serantes, Carlos Gutiérrez and Juanma Delgado achieved their tenth successive win after beating Kofu 0-2 at the Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium. Delgado, who already has seven goals this season, opened the can half an hour from the end. Those of Hakata are second, in positions of direct promotion to the First Division of Japan. The table is led by the Tokushima Vortis by Ricardo Rodríguez.
Iván Márquez, champion with Krakow
To the titles achieved in Qatar and Hong Kong must be added that achieved by Iván Márquez in Poland. The Marbella center-back won the country's Super Cup wearing the Krakow shirt, which beat a Legia 1-0 without José Kante, summoned by Guinea for the friendlies against Cape Verde and Gambia. Yes they were Joel Valencia and Iñaki Astiz, who could not prevent Krakow from winning the first Super Cup in its history.
Another of the great feats of the week was the draw (3-3) harvested by Andorra under-21 against England in the qualifying phase for the European of the category that will be played next year in Hungary and Slovenia. Despite having limited resources, the team led by the Catalan Eloy Casals managed to score against the British team, which had projects from big stars such as Nketiah, Hudson-Odoi or Bellingham. In their last match against the 'pross', Andorra fell 7-0, which shows the great work that the Principality is doing with its lower categories.
The Uruguayan Apertura will be decided in a final
After finishing the Apertura 2020 even on points, Nacional and Rentistas will compete for the title in a final that will take place next Wednesday at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo. The Spanish Felix Martinez, a physical trainer in Munúa's 'staff' in Nacional, is only 90 minutes away from winning his first title in South America. A trophy that the Dean would have lifted last Sunday if he had not missed two points at home against Maldonado.