Fahad Thani

Playing career

Starting his playing career in the youth teams of Al Ahli, Thani played as a right back. He broke into the first team in 1990 at the age of 17, at a time when Al Ahli was undergoing its best years with the likes of Adel Malallah and Issa Ahmed playing for the club. His most notable achievement with Al Ahli was when he won the Emir of Qatar Cup in 1992, defeating Al Rayyan in the 2nd leg after losing the 1st leg 2–1. He also played for Qatar's national youth teams.

Managerial career

Thani retired from football in 1993 and took up coaching. He first coached the youth teams of Al Rayyan and Al Ahli from 1994 to 1999, in addition to landing a job as the assistant coach of the Qatar U–17 team in 1995. He worked alongside future Manchester United coach René Meulensteen. After a two-year stint with the Qatar U–14 team, he was appointed head coach of the Qatar U–17 team in 2005. However, he failed to guide his team through the Asian qualifiers that year and also failed to make an impact in the 2006 GCC U-17 Championship. After leaving his national team post, he was a part of ASPIRE Academy's coaching staff, managing the U–16 team. In 2011, he once again joined the Qatar U–17 team as an assistant coach during the 2011 GCC U-17 Championship. He was later appointed as the assistant coach of Qatar under Sebastião Lazaroni in August 2011. In January 2013, after a series of disappointing results and performances, namely a lackluster performance in the 21st…