Alipour: We are representing Iran

Persepolis are the first team from the Islamic Republic of Iran to reach the final since Zobahan in 2010, while the only other Iranian side to progress to this stage were Sepahan in 2007. No club from the country has ever won the title.

But the Tehran team have produced some remarkable results in the current campaign, ousting the United Arab Emirates’ Al Jazira and Qatar pair Al Duhail and Al Sadd in the knockout rounds, all three match-ups being gripping encounters as Branko Ivankovic’s team advanced to a first AFC Champions League final.

“The Iranian people are very happy that we got to the final,” said Alipour, who with five goals to his name is Persepolis’ top scorer.

“It was a very tense and exciting game for the fans against Al Sadd because they didn’t know until the very end if we were going to go through.

“We do believe that we’re representing Iran and the people of our country. Regardless of who you support, whether it’s Persepolis or even Esteghlal, we hope people are supporting us and we want to make our country happy.”

After the departure of Iranian international striker Mehdi Taremi prior to the 2018 AFC Champions League, Alipour assumed the role of his side’s main striker, and he scored a brace in Persepolis’ 3-0 opening-day victory over Uzbekistan’s Nasaf.

The 23-year-old added another goal in a 2-0 win against the UAE’s Al Wasl, before his fourth strike of the campaign came away at Al Jazira in the first leg of the last 16.

But Alipour’s most important contribution arrived when he struck a late penalty away at Al Sadd in the first leg of the semi-final in a 1-0 victory that was achieved after the forward raced clear in the dying moments, was brought down in the box and converted from the spot.

“Our game plan will not be too different from when we played Al Sadd and we expect Kashima to have more of the ball during the game, but like in the last away game we’ll be looking for opportunities to catch them on the break,” admitted Alipour.

“It’s not really important who scores the goals. Obviously I have scored a lot of them but ultimately we’re all working as a team to win and that’s more important than me scoring goals.

“The key is unity. We’ve played together for a long time now and it’s our responsibility to put everything the coach has trained us on into practice on the pitch and get the result we need.”

Alipour’s teammate Mohammad Ansari, meanwhile, supported the view that Persepolis were playing for their country, while the left-back also believes that the right teams are meeting in the final.

“Iran and Japan are the strongest sides in Asia just now,” said Ansari. “Our aim from the start was to become champions, so we will do our best for Persepolis and for our country.”