The 2008–09 Qatar Stars League season was the 36th edition of top level football in Qatar and started on the 13 September 2008.
Overview The season was played in 3 stages. The 2008–09 calendar released by the QFA saw the first phase run through 13 September till 23 November before phase two kicked off on 27 November to end on 7 February 2009. The final phase started on February 12 and concluded on April 17.
Ten teams played for the title of league champions with each outfit playing 27 matches. The last team in the standings was to be relegated until the QFA announced an expansion to the league for the following season.
The competition was played at the seven stadiums of Al Sadd, Al-Rayyan, Al-Gharafa, Al-Wakrah, Al-Khor, Qatar SC, and Al-Arabi.
Al-Gharafa won the title last season after pipping powerhouse Al Sadd into second place while Al-Shamal were relegated and their place in the top division would be taken up by Al Kharaitiyat.
League expansion The league has slowly expanded since the turn of the decade, moving from 9 clubs to 10 clubs and then latest setup of 12 clubs for the next season campaign.
There are two divisions in the Qatari football structure and the league has previously seen one club promoted and relegated each year except in 'expansion' years.
It was announced on 15 April 2009 that no clubs would be relegated from the top flight due to expansion reasons. The announcement was made with only one game remaining.Q-League expands to 12
Teams Club City/Town Stadium Head coach Last season Notes Al-Gharafa Al Gharrafa Thani bin Jassim Stadium Marcos Paquetá Q-League Champions 2009 AFC Champions League Qualifier Al Sadd Doha Jassim bin Hamad Stadium Cosmin Olăroiu 2nd in Q-League Umm Salal Umm Salal Thani bin Jassim Stadium Gérard Gili 3rd in Q-League 2009 AFC Champions League Qualifier Qatar SC Doha Suheim bin Hamad Stadium Sebastião Lazaroni 4th in Q-League Al-Rayyan Al Rayyan Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Paulo Autuori 5th in Q-League Al-Arabi Doha Grand Hamad Stadium Uli Stielike 6th in Q-League Al-Khor Al Khor Al-Khor SC Stadium Bertrand Marchand 7th in Q-League 2008 Gulf Club Champions Cup Qualifier Al-Sailiya Al Sailiya Suheim bin Hamad Stadium Nebojša Vučković 8th in Q-League Al-Wakrah Al Wakrah Al Janoub Stadium Mustapha Madih 9th in Q-League Al Kharaitiyat Al Kharaitiyat Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Arturzinho Promoted from 2nd level
Foreign players Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 AFC player Former players Al-Arabi Leonardo Pisculichi Salman Isa Kim Lomana LuaLua Souleymane Keïta Mohammed Al-Balushi Younis Mahmoud Al-Gharafa Clemerson Fernandão Nashat Akram Otmane El Assas Hakan Yakin Younis Mahmoud Al-Khor Sayed Mohamed Adnan Moumouni Dagano Bill Tchato Alaa Abdul-Zahra Mahdi Karim Kamel Zaiem Salam Shaker Mehdi Méniri Fabrício Souza Jean Paul Yontcha Al Kharaitiyat Abdulla Baba Fatadi Oumar Tchomogo Fabão Rodolfo Soares Joseph-Désiré Job Sabri Lamouchi Ashraf Bait Taysir Wílton Figueiredo Ali Hasan Kamal Al-Rayyan Aloísio Chulapa Élton Arábia Marcelo Tavares Amara Diané Amad Al-Hosni Abasse Ba Hassan Mudhafar Al-Gheilani Ricardinho Roque Júnior Al Sadd Felipe Carlos Tenorio Agyemang Opoku Pascal Feindouno Khalifa Ayil Al-Noufali Mohammed Rabia Al-Noobi Ismail Matar Al-Sailiya Abdoulaye Cissé Jean-Emmanuel Effa Owona Ahmed Kano Badar Al-Maimani Al-Wakrah Wilsinho Ali Rehema Adil Ramzi Anouar Diba Delano Hill Elbekay Bouchiba Karrar Jassim Qatar SC Marcinho Roger Qusay Munir Talal El Karkouri Youssef Safri Ahmed Al-Dokhi Umm Salal Fabrício Souza Magno Alves Nivaldo Aziz Ben Askar Moussa N'Diaye Mohamed Husain Maurito Sabri Lamouchi
Final league table
Top scorers 25 goals Magno Alves (Umm Salal) 21 goals Leonardo Pisculichi (Al-Arabi) 20 goals Clemerson (Al-Gharafa) 19 goals Amara Diané (Al-Rayyan) Sebastián Soria (Qatar SC) 15 goals Khalfan Ibrahim (Al Sadd) 13 goals Agyemang Opoku (Al Sadd) 11 goals Sayed Mohamed Adnan (Al-Khor) Jean-Emmanuel Effa Owona (Al-Sailiya) Pascal Feindouno (Al Sadd) Amad Al-Hosni (Al-Rayyan) 10 goals Fernandão (Al-Gharafa) Moumouni Dagano (Al-Khor) Anouar Diba (Al-Wakrah)
References
External links Qatari League Goalzz QFA | Qatar Football Association - Home Arabic QFA | Qatar Football Association - Home English News About the Qatar League