Bengaluru/Doha, August 7: Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez was left frustrated after his first game as Al Sadd coach ended with a 1-1 AFC Champions League draw against Al Duhail, in which he lost a shoe when kicking out in anger.
Barcelona great Xavi signed up to be the Qatar Stars League (QSL) club's coach in May and his managerial debut came in Tuesday's last 16 first-leg clash with domestic rivals Al Duhail.
The 39-year-old's coaching career got off to something of a rocky start, with Xavi at one point losing a shoe when he kicked out in frustration after his side were denied a penalty in the closing stages.
Xavi was ushered back to the bench by the officials while still wearing just one shoe, and the former Spain midfielder acknowledged his disappointment at the result and the referee's failure to award the spot-kick.
Xavi's first Asian Champions League game as a manager didn't go to plan - he lost his shoe kicking a water bottle after his team Al-Sadd were denied a late penalty against Al-Duhail! 🦶😂 pic.twitter.com/hHeYXmXuqR
— Goal (@goal) August 6, 2019
"Mistakes are part of the game. I don't like to talk about refereeing. A penalty call in the last minute of the game is tough for the referee, but in my opinion, it was a penalty."
With the QSL not due to start until August 21, Al Sadd's next fixture is the return leg against Emir's Cup champions Al Duhail on Tuesday (August 12), before they face the same opponent in the season-opening Sheikh Jassim Cup.
(With OPTA inputs)