Buriram to sign up Spaniards ahead of Esteghlal clash

AFC – KUALA LUMPUR,  ACL 2013 contenders Buriram United of Thailand are eyeing two or three new players from Spain to boost the squad ahead of their quarterfinal clash with Iran’s Esteghlal starting in August, team manager Tadthep Pitakpoolsin says.

An ACL 2013 Knockout Stage Official Draw held in the Malaysian capital on Thursday drew the Thai club into their quarterfinal group alongside the Iranian outfit.

Buriram appeared in the ACL last year in Group H which featured China’s big spending Guangzhou Evergrande, Kashiwa Reysol of Japan and Korea Republic’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

This year, they were drawn into Group E in the group stage of the current edition alongside FC Seoul of Korea, Vegalta Sendai of Japan and China’s Jiangsu Sainty.

Apart from Central Asian giants Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan whom they played in this year’s Round of 16, Buriram are set to enrich their portfolio of foes by facing Esteghlal, the first Iranian side they will be tackling in their young ACL history.

“We are looking to hire two or three new players from Spain because the candidates play very well and especially because they have good attitude,” Pitakpoolsin told The-AFC.com.

“Their style is also suitable for the team and we are trying to sign them up in the first week of next month, before the deadline for players registration with the AFC is up.

“Esteghlal of Iran are a very strong side and we all know that Iranian football’s standard is very high.

“But we also know that anything can happen because we are hoping to repeat what we did in the Round of 16 and the group stage, where I must say, we did good.

“We will definitely study Esteghlal and how they play. We’ll be ready for them.”

The first leg of the 2013 AFC Champions League quarterfinals will be held on August 21 with the return fixtures taking place on September 18.

If Buriram beat Esteghlal, they will advance to the semifinals to face the winners of another quarterfinal group, last year’s runners-up Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia or 2009 and 2011 quarterfinalists FC Seoul of Korea Republic.