Little was known about Umm Salal just four years ago, but the club has since established itself as a major player in the top-flight of Qatari football. After winning the Emir of Qatar Cup in 2008, the side from a municipality some 20 kilometres north of Doha have surprised many observers by reaching the semi-finals of this year's AFC Champions League. They now have serious aspirations of winning the competition and going on to be the Asian representatives at the FIFA Club World Cup 2009.

FIFA.com spoke with club president Sheikh Faisal Bin Hamad Al-Thani, French coach Gerard Gili and Moroccan club captain Aziz Ben Askar about the secret behind the club's rapid transformation from a little-known second division outfit to one of the biggest names in Asian football.

The club was founded in 1979 under the name of Al-Ta'awun before changing its name to Umm-Salal Sports Club in 2004. Sheikh Faisal sees this as the turning point for the team: "The success of Umm Salal is the result of a collective effort from the moment we changed the name. When I took over the running of the club it was in the second division, and we decided that our ambitions needed to be achieved gradually. Our aim at that time was to achieve promotion to the Qatar Stars League."

Sheikh Faisal adds, "In the first year after promotion our aim was to avoid relegation and stay in the division. Not only did we achieve that but we finished in the top four, so the next season our aim was to stay in the top four. We managed that and also won the Emir of Qatar Cup."

"To a great extent our ambitions at Umm Salal have been realised by reaching the semi-finals of the AFC Champions league but they will only be finally confirmed if we become the champions, I also hope that we will be fortunate enough to win domestic trophies, especially the league title."

Our success in the Champions League is a reflection of the strength of the Qatari league as well as the work we have done at the club.
Aziz Ben Askar, Umm Salal captain.

Umm Salal achieved promotion to the first tier of Qatari football under the leadership of coach Hasan Harmatullah before winning the Emir's Cup under Laurent Banide. However it was the arrival of another Frenchman, Gili, that many believe sparked the team's prolific rise.

Gili says, ‘We have achieved this success because of the work I have put in since taking over the team ten months ago. It has been a huge effort by everyone at the club that has resulted in our current standing."

Gili describes Umm Salal's success as being like a successful marriage and calls for their achievements to be reinvested so they can become one of the biggest clubs in Qatar, adding that the club intends to create an academy to produce talented players similar to the one Arsenal have in England.

Club captain Aziz Ben Askar revealed that the Umm Salal players have been surprised by their results as no one expected them to progress through the group stage. "To be honest we have surprised ourselves with how well we have done. We got off to a good start against Al-Jazira and that spurred us on to more victories."

"Our success in the Champions League is a reflection of the strength of the Qatari league as well as the work we have done at the club. Our playing staff has not changed much over the last four years and I believe that Hasan Harmatullah laid the foundations for today's success," adds Ben Askar.

Umm Salal are the first Qatari team to reach this stage of the competition since it changed its format in 2003 and now Sheikh Faisal is aiming to win it and qualify for the FIFA World Club Cup 2009. "To be the Asian Champions would be an incredible achievement but to play against the best teams in the world would be even better. I think that playing at that level is everyone's dream," says the club president.

Gili concludes, "The team still have three games to win to secure the title and all that concerns us is continuing the good work and believing that we can be the best team in Asia."