Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
How they qualified: Winners - Qatar Emir Cup 2011
Established 1967
Nickname Al Raheeb (The Fierce)
Home stadium Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium (25,000)
Website www.rayyanclub.com
Club Honours
Qatar league champions 7 - 1976, 78, 82, 84, 86, 90, 95
Emir Cup winners 5 - 1999, 2004, 06, 10, 11
Crown Prince Cup winners 3 - 1995, 96, 2001
Previous ACL appearances
2005 - Group stage
2007 - Group stage
2011 - Group stage
Despite being one of the best supported clubs in Qatar, Al Rayyan have gone nearly two decades without winning their domestic league title. However, they have made up for that by winning the Emir Cup on a regular basis in recent years with their 2-1 victory over Al Gharafa in last year's final earning them a spot in the AFC Champions League for the fourth time.
Under Brazilian coach Paulo Autouri, the club won back-to-back Emir Cups and challenged strongly for the league title last year before finishing third behind champions Lekhwiya and Al Gharafa. However, Autouri left to take charge of Qatar's Olympic side last July and was replaced by Uruguayan Diego Aguirre.
Aguirre has made few changes to the squad who played under Autouri and they are once again in the thick of the battle for the Qatar Stars League this season with Brazilian star striker Afonso Alves in fine form and leading the league's scoring chart.
However, their record on the continental stage could be greatly improved as the Qatari club have never managed to get past the group stage on their previous appearances in the AFC Champions League. Such have been their struggles in the competition that they went 14 matches without a win from a 2-0 success against Iraq's Al Shorta in 2005 to a victory by a similar margin over Emirates last May.
Expectations
Having finally ended their long winless drought in the AFC Champions League, Al Rayyan will want to kick on and challenge for a spot in the knockout stage this season. The Qatari side have avoided most of the competition's heavyweights in their group so they have a good chance to progress. However, they must improve their dreadful away record - they have never won an away game in the AFC Champions League games and lost all three of their matches on the road last year.
Coach
Diego Aguirre
Following the departure of Paulo Autouri just before the start of the Qatar league season, Al Rayyan appointed Diego Aguirre as their new head coach. It is the first coaching assignment outside South America for the 46-year-old, who had worked in Ecuador and Peru as well as his native Uruguay. The former striker is a club legend at Penarol, after scoring their winning goal in the 1987 Copa Libertadores final and coaching the Uruguayan giants to two league titles.
Did you know?
While Al Rayyan's football team have not come close to landing the AFC Champions League title, the club's basketball team are a continental powerhouse. The Al Rayyan basketball team have won the FIBA Asia Champions Cup twice, in 2002 and 2005, and reached the final on four other occasions.
Key Player:
Rodrigo Tabata
An attacking midfielder of Japanese-Brazilian descent, Rodrigo Tabata joined Al Rayyan on loan from Turkish side Besiktas before completing a full transfer in February 2011.The 31-year-old has contributed some timely goals for the club including both in the 2-1 win over Al Gharafa in the Emir's Cup final last year.