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AFCCL - Sepahan coach Luka Bonacic has set his
sights on starting his side's AFC Champions League campaign with a win over
Syria's Al Ittihad as the club looks to compensate for the expulsion of
compatriots Esteghlal from the competition.
The Tehran giants were removed from after failing to register their squad
ahead of the Asian Football Confederation's deadline and, as a result,
Sepahan are the nation's only representative in a tournament in which
Iranian teams have, historically, struggled.
Croatian Bonacic, however, is under no illusions as to the task awaiting his
side against Al Ittihad.
"The Syrians will be tough nuts to crack and we won't underestimate them,
even though we are playing at home," he said.
"Fortunately everything is okay and we are following our pre-determined
plans. We plan to watch Al Ittihad's recent games on DVD to analyse their
weak points as well as their abilities.
"I'm not going to anticipate the result but, it is our opening game and our
aim is to send Al Ittihad home without a point. We'll be doing our best to
achieve this, for sure."
Sepahan will be missing former Bochum midfielder Moharram Navidkia, who is
excluded due to injury, leaving much of the burden of responsibility on
Mohammed Nori and national team defender Hadi Aghily.
Al Ittihad go into the game with no injury or suspension worries but coach
Hussain Afash is not unestimating the difficulties facing Al Ittihad in
Group D, which also features Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi
Arabian champions Al Shabab.
“I think that our group is very hard, especially because the football level
in Syria is different from other countries," he said. "We have prepared very
hard and I think that we had enough time to prepare very well.
“We gained good experience from playing in the previous tournament and we
will be aiming this year to compete for the group ticket. However, it will
not be easy because we are in a tough group with the UAE, Iran and Saudi
Arabia champions.”
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