03 Jan 2018
Doha, 3rd January 2018. Chinese Super League (CSL) football club side, Tianjin Quanjian is currently on a training camp at Aspire Academy and the club officials and players have been in full praise of the venue and its world class facilities.
Tianjin Quanjian sit in third place on the Chinese Super League log table and recently appointed former Fiorentina head coach and ex-Portuguese international, Paulo Sosa to replace former Italian International Fabio Cannavaro. Sosa is leading Tianjin Quanjian during their training camp at Aspire Academy during one of the breaks from training he commended on the experience, “Firstly let me convey our gratitude to Aspire and Qatar Football Association for us being here for this training camp. The hospitality we have received and the professionalism by all parties we are working with from the hotel people to football authorities has been excellent. It is important to prepare well and maximize on the league break and in Aspire Academy we couldn’t have asked for a better training base where pretty much every angel is covered. We have been able to put in some hard work and using excellent facilities here at Aspire and l have said to my players let’s make the most of this wonderful football environment at Aspire and enjoy the experience of holding this training camp here in Qatar.”
Among the players in Qatar with Tianjin Quanjian FC are the foreign pair of Brazilian international and former AC Milan forward, Alexandre Pato and Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel. The Belgian has been to Aspire Academy before with his previous club, Zenit Saint Petersburg and he had this to say, “I am pleased to come back and train with my new team at a familiar and fantastic place like Aspire Academy. It is so ideal for our purposes and the whole team is benefiting from our time together in Qatar”. Meanwhile Chinese international midfield player Zhao Xuri was happy to be back in Qatar and train at Aspire which is a stone throw away from Khalifa International Stadium where he played a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against hosts Qatar last September. “I have been privileged to play against Qatar before in the beautiful Khalifa Stadium and l marvel at the wonderful facilities here at Aspire. The attention to detail and work that has gone into this place to make it one of the best there is in the world and it’s a delight to train here at Aspire.”
Brazilian Pato added, “This is my first time at Aspire Academy and l have never seen anything better than what you have here anywhere in the world. The training camp and all that comes with it is simple magnificent and from what I have seen l have not doubt that Qatar will put up a fabulous Football World Cup in 2022 which every footballer dreams to be part of and that includes me.”
Tianjin Quanjian played a friendly match against Qatar Stars League side, Al Sailiya on Wednesday 3rd January at Aspire and the visitors triumphed by 1-0 score line.