Showdown in IPL

PFDC - IRAN, A home victory against 14th placed Bargh Shiraz on Friday (16:30 Tehran time) is all Esteghlal Tehran needs to lift the Iranian League title for the first time since 2001.

Five years ago, the "Blues" won the last edition of the semi-professional Azadegan League, four points ahead of archrivals Persepolis Tehran, just to fail to secure one single league title in the four following seasons of the Iranian Pro League (IPL) so far.

Now the Tehran giants go into the last round with a one-point-lead ahead of Pas Tehran, who face a tough challenge with an away match against AFC Champions League participants Saba Battery.

Esteghlal coach Ghalenoi will have to do without the suspended defender Pirouz Ghorbani and possibly without the injured striker Siavash Akbarpour. Fortunately for Esteghlal, Bargh won't be able to lineup the also suspended Samad Zare.

Pas, probably in the last league match under the helm of Turkish coach Denizli who is expected to leave Iran in summer, will have to go into the already hard enough match against Saba Battery without the suspended national team defender Mohammad Nosrati, as well as Khosrow Heydari and Sattar Hamedani.

Esteghlal's task of beating Bargh, who narrowly escaped relegation, looks easy on paper, however, the team from the capital already failed twice in similar situations in recent years.

Before the last match of the 2001/02 season, Esteghlal were on top of the table, two points ahead of Persepolis, but suffered an embarassing 1-0 defeat against Malavan in Anzali, which, in combination with the "Reds" 1-0 win over Fajr Sepassi, cost Esteghlal the title.

Two years and a disappointing ninth place in the 2002/03 season later, Esteghlal again looked like certain IPL winners, leading Pas Tehran by one point with two rounds to go, but the "Blues" suffered another trauma after a 2-1 defeat to Esteghlal Ahvaz in the second last round. Pas' wins over Sepahan (4-3) and Esteghlal Ahvaz (5-0) earned the club the title, while Esteghlal once more finished as runners-up despite a 3-2 victory over Pegah on the last matchday.

After a third place last season, Esteghlal now once more have fate in their own hands.