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AFC – With domestic honours beyond them,
reigning Iran Pro League champions Foolad are looking to rescue a dismal
season with a solid performance in the AFC Champions League.
The team from the south-western province of Khuzestan celebrated their first
league title triumph in 2005 but the current campaign has been a huge
disappointment with the club dumped out of the Hafzi Cup by first division
side Nojan Sari and sitting in mid-table, a distant 14 points behind
front-runners Esteghlal.
If things were not bad enough, Foolad go into Wednesday’s AFC Champions
League Group A opener against Kuwait’s Al Qadisiya on the back of a 7-1
hammering by high-flying Pas last weekend, a game in which they scored first
but conceded six second-half goals.
However, the embarrassing defeat against last year’s AFC Champions League
quarter-finalists could help to spur on a Foolad side keen to make amends.
"We shouldn’t have played like we did against Pas,” admitted Iran
international winger Hossein Kaebi
“We are representing Iranian football on the continental stage and my
teammates and I are well aware of how important this first game in the AFC
Champions League is for us. There is definitely no room for error against Al
Qadisiya.
“It’s not possible for us to retain the league title or win the Hafzi Cup so
we want to focus all of our attention on the ACL especially as this match
against Al Qadisiya could be decisive to the outcome of Group A.,” added the
20-year-old.
Despite being in existence for only eight years, Foolad have made great
strides during that time with a talented squad drawn from the club’s academy
that includes the likes of Kaebi, goalkeeper Ebrahim Mirzapour and central
defender Sayyed Mohammad Alavi, all of whom are regular figures in the Iran
national team.
While Foolad command a strong following at home, the lack of a suitable
facility in their home city in Ahwaz means that Wednesday’s match will be
played at the Tehran's Dastgerdi Stadium, the home of Pas and venue of their
mauling last weekend.
Foolad coach Nenad Nikolic, who has been conducting training sessions in the
Iranian capital since Sunday, is confident though that his side can regain
their form at the same venue and put behind them the memories of that
stinging loss.
"I accept that we've been humiliatingly defeated by Pas, but I'm optimistic
that we will get a result from this match,” said the Croatian. “By winning
tomorrow's game we can more easily forget the memory of that bitter loss."
While Foolad make their debut in the AFC Champions League, the match will
mark the return of Al Qadisiya after they were thrown out of the 2004
tournament and suspended last year following an ugly brawl in an ACL clash
against Qatar’s Al Sadd.
The Qadisiya squad, which left for Tehran on Tuesday evening, includes a
number of Kuwait internationals including goalkeeper Nawaf Al Khaledi,
defenders Mesaed Neda and Nohayer Al Shammari, and forwards Khalaf Salama
and Bader Al Mutwa.
The team led by former Kuwait national coach Mohammed Ibrahim will be eager
to make up for lost time in the continental competition after firmly
establishing themselves as the kingpins of their domestic league in recent
years with three consecutive league titles.
They appear to be on course for a fourth championship this season after a
12-0 demolition of Al Shabab last weekend. The big win was achieved despite
Ibrahim’s decision to rest three players - midfielder Nawaf Al Mutairi, and
defenders Ali Al Shamali and Nohayer Al Shammari.
The match at the Dastgerdi Stadium kicks off at 15:00 hours local time.
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