Spain and Barcelona legend Xavi is standing in the way of Al Jazira’s 2016 AFC Champions League hopes after Qatar giants Al Sadd were pitted against them in the qualifying play-offs.
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The 2014-15 Arabian Gulf League runners-up and third-placed Al Shabab both face one-off ties to make the continent’s premier club competition. They learned their fates on Friday, ahead of December 10’s group stage draw.
Jazira will host centre midfielder Xavi’s men on February 9 at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, with Shabab travelling to Uzbekistan on the same night to play Bunyodkor.
The Hawks will hope to avoid a similar fate to their Abu Dhabi rivals, who lost 2-1 in Tashkent to miss out on the 2015 edition. Sadd also dumped out Al Wahda on penalties at the same stage.
If either UAE side emerges victorious, they will join top-flight champions Al Ain and President’s Cup winners Al Nasr in the full tournament.
Elsewhere in the draw for the West Zone, Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad will play Jordan’s Al Wehda and Iran’s Naft Tehran host Qatar’s El Jaish.
The UAE have enjoyed a renaissance in the ACL during the past two years. Al Ain made the semi-finals of the 2014 version, while Al Ahli suffered a narrow 1-0 aggregate loss in the final to China’s Guangzhou Evergrande last month.
