DOHA: Alegrian Belmadi on Sunday was unveiled as new Qatar football coach, replacing Fahad Thani who has been given charge of the Olympic squad. This announcement was made by Qatar Football Association (QFA) President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani at a news conference. Belmadi, who guided QSL side Lekhwiya to two national league titles in 2011 and 2012 , said he was delighted to be named the new coach. "This is a great opportunity for me to take charge of a very talented squad," Belmadi said. "This is a responsibility that I have taken up after considerable thought. I did not go out looking for this job," the 37-year-old added. "I have been in this country for 10 years. I know how important this sport to Qatar and the football fans. We have many targets to achieve," he said Sheikh Hamad said: "We announce that Mr Djamel Belmadi will manage the Qatar national team. Our targets are easy to understand. We want to reach the finals of the 2018 World Cup to be held in Russia." He added: "I take this opportunity to thank Fahad Thani for his wonderful contribution. He took over at a difficult time and did his best (2012 to 2014). We have important events coming up like the Gulf Cup and the 2015 Asian Cup." Fahad Thani said: "I would like to express my regret that we could not reach the 2014 World Cup finals. However, I would like to congratulate QFA on reaching the 2015 Asian Cup. My new target is to help Qatar reach the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero." Fahad had replaced Brazilian Paulo Autuori in February 2012 after Qatar were knocked out of the 2012 Gulf Cup in Bahrain. Under Fahad, Qatar failed to reach the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals to be held in June this year in Brazil. In January this year, Belmadi guided Qatar junior side to WAFF title glory. He also played in Qatar, appearing for Al Kharaitiyat.