“The first game decides team’s fate”: Branko Ivankovic

Tehran Times – MUSCAT, Persepolis head coach Branko Ivankovic believes that despite being in the toughest group of AFC Champions League, his side will make every effort to qualify for the next round and make the Iranian fans happy.

“This group which contains Persepolis as the best Iranian team, Al Hilal as the Saudi Arabia champions, Al Rayyan as the QSL champions and Al Wahda as one of the best Emirati teams is definitely the group of death in this season’s AFC Champions League,” Ivankovic said.

“We cannot host Al Hilal at Tehran’s Azadi stadium due to some political issues, unfortunately and we lack the support of our fans. The most important game is the match against Al Hilal since it is our first game. As you know the first game is always the most important match as it could decide the fate of a team in the tournament,” the Croat added.

“We have the full respect for Al Hilal as they have a great squad but we have our own strategy. We would like to make our fans happy with a decent performance. We need to grab the points from the very first in order to ensure the qualification from this group,” he added.

Persepolis will open their campaign against two-time continental champions Al Hilal at Muscat’s Sultan Qaboos Stadium on Tuesday at 19:00 local time.