Saudi striker, Qahtani, announces his return, participation in Gulf Cup

Saudi striker, Yasir Al-Qahtani, announced on Tuesday that he has scrapped his previous decision to stop playing football.

In April, after Saudi Arabia losing in the Asian world qualifiers for 2014, Qahtani vowed not to play again.

But on his blog and his official Twitter account, Qahtani wrote on Tuesday that he was convinced to return after having an encouraging phone conversation with the Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard.

Rijkaard was successful in persuading Qahtani to return and join the Saudi team to play in the upcoming Gulf Cup scheduled to start on January 5 in Bahrain.

The striker said Rijkaard convinced him that the Saudi team needs his experience.