ACL SF (1st leg): Esteghlal preview

AFC – SEOUL, Coach Amir Ghalenoei has targeted an away goal when Iran champions Esteghlal meet Korean counterparts FC Seoul in the first leg of their 2013 AFC Champions League semi-final at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Wednesday.

Esteghlal travelled to Seoul directly from Thailand after eliminating Buriram United 3-1 on aggregate following a 2-1 win in the second leg of their quarter-final tie on Wednesday.

And with the second leg of the semi-final taking place in Tehran next week, Ghalenoei is targeting more goals away from home as Esteghlal look to add to the Asian Club Championship titles won in 1970 and 1991.

“This semi-final has two halves and the first is in Seoul and the second is in Tehran and we have to have a separate plan for each one,” said Ghalanoei.

“In this away match our target is to score and our focus at home in Tehran will be not to concede.

“Seoul is a very strong team and are very well organised and are strong both in the defensive line and in attack.

“They play with discipline but also we are Esteghlal and our condition is improving match-by-match and week-by-week.”

Ghalanoei will be forced into at least one change from last week’s win over Buriram with defender Khosro Heidari suspended.

And with this in mind, the 49 year-old tactician is wary of FC Seoul’s attacking power and singled out captain Ha Dae-sung, Montenegrin international striker Dejan Damjanovic – who scored both goals as FC Seoul beat Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia 2-1on aggregate in the quarter-finals – and Colombian ace Mauricio Molina as the main threats.

“Our plan is to isolate the midfield from the attack,” added Ghalanoei.

“We know that Seoul are fast down the wings and they target their striker and we will do our best to combat that.”

Ghalanoei was coach of the Iran national team at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup when his team were eliminated at the quarter-final stage by the Korea Republic.

“There have been many matches held between Iran and Korea Republic,” he said.

“Sometimes Iran won, sometimes Korea Republic won, but the most important thing is the good memories of these matches.”

Andranik Teymourian was a member of Iran team that clinched qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup with victory in Korea in June, but the Esteghlal midfielder insisted that the rivalry between the national teams had little bearing on the semi-final clash.

“It’s not possible to compare the national team of Korea Republic and Iran with the club teams,” said Teymourian, who scored a spectacular stoppage-time winner in Thailand last week.

“It is very good that both Seoul and Esteghlal have some national team players as these are good players that can help the game be played at speed and be a better match.

“Like Seoul, we are eager to progress and we hope to have a good result in this away match.”