Al-Rayyan Sports Club

Football club infobox
clubname = Al-Rayyan


fullname = Al-Rayyan Club
nickname = Ar-rahib ("The frightful")
founded = 1967
ground = Ahmed bin Ali Stadium
Ar Rayyan, Qatar
capacity = 25,000
chairman = flagicon|Qatar Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani
manager = flagicon|Brazil Paulo Autuori
league = Qatari League
season = 2006/07
position = 4th
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leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFF

Al-Rayyan Club ( _ar. نادي الريان) is a Qatari professional sports club fielding teams in a number of sports such as football (soccer), basketball, volleyball, handball, and table tennis. It is based in the city of Ar Rayyan at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium. The club was founded in 1967 after merging the old Rayyan team with "Nusoor Club". The official team colours are red and black, the team is nicknamed "alraheeb" which means the "frightful" and also the "lions".

Ar Rayyan is a historical city in the state of Qatar, the name meaning "the source of irrigation" and it is also the name of a door in heaven, in the Muslim faith.

The club has won numerous titles in all sports, including two Asian championships in basketball, the Arab championship in handball, table tennis and volleyball, as well as the GCC basketball championship. Both the basketball and handball teams have qualified respectively to the world championships. However, the football team gets the most attention from the club officials as well as the media and the fans, some information is given about it below.

Honours

*Qatari League: 7 1975/1976, 1977/1978, 1981/1982, 1983/1984, 1985/1986, 1989/1990, 1994/1995

*Qatar Crown Prince Cup: 3 1995, 1996, 2001

*Emir of Qatar Cup: 3 1999, 2004, 2006

Performance in AFC Competitions

* AFC Champions League: 2 appearances::2005: Group Stage::2007: Group Stage
* Asian Club Championship: 4 appearances::1986: Qualifying Stage::1992: 3rd place::1997: Group Stage::1998: Second Round
* Asian Cup Winners Cup: 1 appearance::1999/00: Second Round

Current squad

Famous Players

Algeria
*flagicon|Algeria Ali Benarbia
*flagicon|Algeria Lakhdar AdjaliBrazil
*flagicon|Brazil Sonny Anderson
*flagicon|Brazil Roque Junior
*flagicon|Brazil Fumagalli
*flagicon|Brazil RicardinhoCameroon
*flagicon|CameroonSalomon OlembéFrance
*flagicon|France Sabri LamouchiGermany
*flagicon|Germany Mario BaslerIvory Coast
*flagicon|CIV Blaise Kouassi
*flagicon|CIV Hamed DialloMorocco
*flagicon|Morocco Bouchaib El MoubarkiNetherlands
*flagicon|Netherlands Frank de Boer
*flagicon|Netherlands Ronald de Boer Oman
*flagicon|OMA Ahmed MubarakPoland
*flagicon|Poland Jacek BąkPortugal
*flagicon|POR João TomasSenegal
*flagicon|Senegal Moussa N'DiayeSpain
*flagicon|Spain Fernando Hierro

Noted Managers

*flagicon|Denmark Benny Johansen
*flagicon|Denmark Roald Poulsen
*flagicon|Denmark Jørgen E. Larsen
*flagicon|Netherlands Ron van der Berg
*flagicon|France Luis Fernández
*flagicon|France Pierre Lechanter
*flagicon|Brazil Paulo Autuori

External links

* [http://www.rayyanclub.com/ Official Website (Arabic)]