Wasting no time after Barcelona’s treble celebrations, Xavi has already arrived in Doha for his presentation as an Al-Sadd player on Thursday. Normally when a player of Xavi’s caliber moves to a place unaccustomed to hosting superstars, there’s an untamable mob of giddy fans filling an airport terminal beyond capacity. But this is World Cup 2022 host nation Qatar.

Though there were some fans and club officials awaiting his arrival, it was all very orderly and far from overwhelming. Which is probably a sensation he should get used to over the next two years since Al Sadd have an average attendance of about 6,000.

For the sake comparison, here’s Kaka’s arrival in Orlando (2014)…

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ys8aZ-eiz4A

And Didier Drogba’s arrival in Shanghai (2012)…

https://www.youtube.com/embed/FodzRi19Qd4

And Alessandro Del Piero’s arrival in Sydney (2012)…

https://www.youtube.com/embed/qvkfl0scrqw

Qatar: As football mad as they come.