Sirous Out To Prove A Point Again

PFDC - At the Asian Club Championship finals, Esteghlal's Sirous Dinmohammadi aims to deliver a message for all those who believe that West Asian sides are slipping behind their East Asian cousins - 'Think again!'.

The Asian Football Magazine, FootballAsia has done an interview with the star player of Iranian champions Esteghlal before their attempt to win their third Asian Club Championship title on April 3-5.

Sirous believes his club can defy the odds and add to their previous Asian Club titles. Esteghlal proved they were a class above their opponents when they thrashed hosts Al-Wahda 5-3 and achieved a comfortable victory against the Kuwaitis at 3-0. Esteghlal who eliminated Saudi giants Al-Ittehad in their way to quarter-finals has singled them out as the 'best in the west'.

"Although we could have done much better in the quarter-finals, particularly in the second game, we have tremendous team unity and our morale is very high. The expectations back in Iran are huge. The people want to see Esteghlal as Asian champions again." says Dinmohammadi.

Esteghlal which lost the title in Tehran in 1998/99 to Japan's powerhouse Iwata, will have another shot at the title in Tehran in front of a 120,000-packed stadium with blue-clad fans and therefore everything is set to be the defending moment of Dinmohammadi's career.

"It's an honor to be a part of a team with a long history and millions of supporters," he says.

"It's such a terrific feeling when you enter the field or when the team scores. You can't compare it with anything else."