Sardar Azmoun @ FC Rostov | 2016/17

[PSGman#19]

Any pix of them in Munich?

[PrinceAli]

I guess we won't see Azmoun starting in Munich, their coach will probably deploy the 1-10-0 tactic

rostov knows that azmoun is their best market value and they need to play him so that they can sell him in the future for the best price

[04041374]

Any pix of them in Munich?

[diz]

Front and Center...Azmoun Shireh!

[saadat_abad]

For US based members, ESPN 2 will be showing the game live at 11:30 Pacific time .

[04041374]

[04041374]

Btw. Saeid will wear #68 in the UCL games.

http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionslea...500/index.html

[Iran_19]

Is Sardar 100% fit to start? Saeid won't be starter most likely anyway but even few minutes playing time is good.

[Afat11]

http://www.thenational.ae/sport/cham...he-mill-rostov

In the offices of the serial champions of Germany, in Sabenerstrasse, Munich, you hear a soft purr of contentment. Bayern Munich may have said farewell this summer to the so-called "best coach in the world", Pep Guardiola, but there are those who view his replacement, the most decorated, manager in the modern Uefa Champions League, Carlo Ancelotti, as perhaps an easier manager to deal with, day to day.


Bayern’s senior executives like the shape that Europe’s principal club tournament is taking, too. Bayern may not have lifted a European Cup for three years, but they have been in the last four for the past five editions.

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They would like, at a minimum, to maintain those standards and never to be outside the elite. Their leading executive, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, led the pressure group that eked out of Uefa the latest tranche of structural changes that will, from 2018, come even closer to guaranteeing that the competition guards the right of entry for the big clubs from the richer leagues.

Rummenigge did little for the cause of romance when he snorted, earlier this year, that the likes of Bayern and Juventus should not be obliged to meet one another at the last-16 stage of the European Cup while "clubs like PSV, Genk and Wolfsburg are still there". He demanded a stricter seeding mechanism. Rummenigge then successfully pressed for a future change to the Champions League that means that the four most glamorous domestic leagues in Europe – Spain, Germany, England and Italy – will from 2018 have a quartet of clubs each in the starting-grid, the group phase. In other words, four countries from a continent of more than 50 nations will get half of the 32 places in a mini-league system that captures the imagination of the world.


The group stage for this season begins Tuesday and Wednesday, with clubs from 16 countries playing their opening group fixtures.

Looking for an upset to the hierarchy? Munich’s Allianz Arena is probably the worst place to start. Bayern host the kind of clash that Rummenigge’s protectionism finds a little tiresome. Rostov are the visitors, a Russian club with no pedigree at all in the European Cup except for their remarkable recent route though what the elite regard as an irritating cat-flap in the backdoor to the group stage.


Rostov finished a surprise second in last season’s Russian Premier League, ahead of the likes of Zenit Saint-Petersburg. That gave them a shot, albeit a long one, at keeping, via two knockout rounds, the company of the likes of Bayern, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus. How long a shot? Measured by the Uefa coefficient, the basis of European competition seeding and a gauge designed to celebrate consistent performance among the elite, a very long shot indeed. Rostov’s coefficient is just over 11,000 points. Bayern’s is more than 163,000.


But Rostov have a formula that not only worked in Russia but abroad. They defeated Anderlecht of Belgium in the pre-qualifying round, securing progress to the play-offs with a 2-0 win in Brussels. That brought them to a showdown with Ajax, four-time winners of the European Cup. After drawing in Amsterdam, they put four goals past the Dutch side in Russia. That is an extravagant result by Rostov’s standards, their success having been built on stout defending, marginal gains and the sharp finishing of Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun.


Bayern’s modus operandi is distinct. Two matches into the Bundesliga season, Bayern have scored eight goals and conceded none. Goliath has been flexing his muscles ahead of the visit of David, the rank Russian outsiders.

It looks a mismatch. Rostov have only ever played 10 games in European competitions; on Tuesday Ancelotti takes charge of his 149th Champions League fixture, 20 years, almost to the day, since he managed a club team for the first time in Europe.


Ancelotti, formerly of AC Milan, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, has what Rummenigge recognises as pure pedigree, and in a 2016/17 Champions League without either Milan club featuring, without Manchester United or Chelsea, pedigree is a quality the traditional heavyweights worry about, believes needs cultivating, protecting and favouring.

The likes of Rostov must seize their moment. They might not get another go for a while.

People acknowledge that Sardar carried this team to the Champions League group stage. Even if Sardar doesn't score 10 goals here, you can be sure that his name will be known by the managers at Bayern, Atletico and PSV. This is a huge accomplishment for such a young player! Being the star on a team competing with some of the best in the world!

[04041374]

http://www.espnfc.us/uefa-champions-...p-stage-starts


Sardar Azmoun, Rostov

The skilful striker is definitely the most intriguing player in a combative Rostov lineup. The 21-year-old, nicknamed the "Iranian Messi," scored nine goals as his team sensationally finished second in Russia last season ahead of Zenit, and then found the net against both Anderlecht and Ajax in the Champions League qualifiers. Protege of coach Kurban Berdyev, Azmoun is making progress on a monthly basis.

[Kian Persepolis]

Wait, is Boateng still injured? That would be great if he didn't play. Also, is Berdyev coaching?

[inarsenewetrust]

For all intents and purposes, berdyev is th coach. He may or may not be on the bench but he will be in the locker room and in stands during game.

[persiangooner]

http://www.bayerncentral.com/2016/09...-league-group/



This says that Boateng is unlikely to start.
Also, predicted lineup from Bayern, still looks very strong. Expect a defensive stance from Rostov and only a few chances for Sardar.
He needs to capitalize on what he gets!

[Iran_19]

Berdyev is the head coach, he just can't sit on the bench becasue of some rules, Rostov are trying to solve the issue soon..

[PSGman#19]

I bet on 5/1 for Bayern with a Rostov goal from...Polo(pa)z