Mansourian: We know Al-Sadd very well, it will be a crucial match

Esteghlal head coach Alireza Mansourian has spoken of the importance of his side’s match against Al-Sadd in the playoff round of the 2017 AFC Champions League.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Mansourian said: “This is one of the most important matches for Esteghlal this season. This match will be crucial for us and very important for our young players who will have a lot to give against Al-Sadd at the Azadi Stadium. I hope our great fans will be with us, as they have always been, in this match. Everyone knows that our fans are the prime reason for the improvement showed in our last few matches.”

The coach went on to add: “The match will be really tough because it is a one-off and the loser bids goodbye to the tournament. We have to play intelligently and be vigilant. We are mentally prepared for the match. We know Al-Sadd really well.”

Mansourian also said: “We have analyzed the last 12 matches that Al-Sadd have played in the domestic competitions. We are playing in front of our fans and we will do all we can to reach the next stage.”

As for the absence of the new signings against Al-Sadd, Mansourian said: “I won’t talk of the mistakes of the past that led to the punishment which prohibited us from signing the new players. We were about to sign with Teymourian and Djeparov, who are both heavyweight players. There was also Rouzbeh Cheshmi. However, we were surprised by the AFC’s punishment which denied us from completing these transfers at the last moment.”

The Esteghlal coach added: “It is rare to see an Al-Sadd player receive a yellow card. Apart from Xavi, Al-Sadd have a number of stars like Al-Haydos, Khalfan Ibrahim and Hamroun. We know that they have a fiery attack. Therefore I explained all the necessary points in detail to my team’s defence. We worked on overcoming individual errors. We are not depending on extending this match to extra time and penalty shootouts; we will try to finish it in normal time.”