Tractor pulled by the lure of Asian glory

AFC – KUALA LUMPUR, Tractor Sazi President Mohammed Hossein Jafari has said that participating in the AFC Champions League can help the Tabriz side realise their dream of becoming one of the best clubs in Asia.

The tournament debutants were pooled with Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab, Al Jazira of the UAE and fellow newcomers El Jaish of Qatar in Group A following the ACL 2013 Group Stage Draw, which took place at AFC House on Thursday.

“It has been our dream since establishing the club to make it one of the best in Asia,” Jafari told www.the-afc.com.

“Al Shabab is a huge club and so are Al Jazira and El Jaish but I am confident we can reach the second round.”

Jafari’s confidence is based in part on the legions of passionate fans that he expects will pack out Tabriz’s Yadegar Emam Stadium during the home matches of Tractor, who finished runners-up to Sepahan in this year’s Iran Pro League.

“Tractor Sazi has one of teh biggest fan bases in Iran and our supporters have been waiting a long team to see us play in continental competition for a long time,” he said.

“I am confident that we will have a good run in our home matches and if we can pick up some points on the road then I don’t see why we can’t finish top of the group.

“Our club is very ambitious and at the moment we are developing strategically to ensure that we have a team capable of challenging for honours in the league and cup competitions for years to come.

“We have been investing heavily in our youth set-up and that is now beginning to reap fruit.”