ACL SF (2nd leg): Seoul Preview

AFC – TEHRAN, FC Seoul coach Choi Yong-soo has sounded a note of cautious optimism ahead of Wednesday’s encounter in Iran against Estehglal as the Korean champions look to seal their spot in this year’s AFC Champions League final.

Seoul put themselves into a strong position to become the fifth consecutive Korean team to reach the final after goals on either side of the interval from Dejan Damjanovic and Go Yo-han gave them a 2-0 advantage in the first leg of the semi-final in Seoul a week ago.

While he is wary of the challenge that Esteghlal will pose when they play in front of their fans at the Azadi Stadium, Choi is still confident that his team will get the job done in Tehran.

“We are very glad to be here especially as we are representing Korean football in this competition,” said the former Korea Republic international striker.

“I have asked my players to prepare well for this match. It is true that we won the first leg but the altitude in Tehran is different from Seoul and of course the time zone difference might cause us some difficulties.

“We know that Esteghlal are a strong side but we are here to beat them again and to take a step closer to winning this year’s trophy.

“We could have scored even more goals in Korea and Esteghlal were lucky to concede just twice. I believe in my player’s abilities and I’m confident that they can fulfil my expectations.”

Despite his side’s two-goal advantage, Choi insisted that they will not be sitting back to try and defend their lead.

“We know if we concede the first goal, the rest of the match could be a nightmare for us so we will make sure that we go out there and attack. I am pretty sure that both sides will put out an offensive performance,” said the FC Seoul coach.

“We know the stadium will be most probably filled up but fortunately most of our players are very experienced and they won’t be affected by the huge crowd. I think the rest of our team who have not previously played in such a big venue will enjoy a unique experience.”

Esteghlal will miss the experienced duo of Javad Nekounam and Andranik Teymourian, who are both suspended, but Choi felt that their absence could present his team with a different sort of problem.

“Those two are very good and influential players in midfield but on the other hand the fact that they are sidelined for tomorrow’s encounter might prove to be a negative for us because they will probably be replaced by two young players who we do not have much knowledge or information about,” he said.

While Esteghlal coach Amir Ghalanoei has advised his players to stay focussed on the match and to refrain from spending time on the internet or social media, Choi is of a different mindset.

“I have never told my boys not to surf the web ahead of important matches. In fact I have even advised them to stay in touch with our fans,” the 40-year-old concluded.