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footballmedia.net - Afshin Dastafshan: Iranian professional league is in its sixth season however the professional league has brought no success to Iranian football in Asia. Season after season we have seen a club doing well and winning the top league in Iran only for their performance to deteriorate the following season and that of course is when they represent Iran in the Asian Champions League (ACL). This inconsistency is part of Iranian football culture; it’s more a disease that the officials running the show in Iran football are incapable of removing.
 
The first five seasons of Iran Pro League (now Persian Gulf League, PGL) produced no success in ACL, this was mainly due to the less experienced Iranian clubs winning the league and Hazfi Cup and qualifying for the big stage in Asia. In theory clubs across Iran winning the league and playing in Asia should be in the interest of Iran football as standard of football should rise across the country hence a stronger league.  But things have not worked out that way due to poor management, poor planning, poor coaching and poor facilities, there is also a skills drain in players with many of Iran’s rising stars and top players heading abroad.
 
Season after season we have seen costly blunders and mismanagement hurting Iran football, last season Iranian Champions Foulad Khuzestan had to play all their home matches away in colder Tehran climate since their own stadium in Ahvaz was undergoing renovation (thus losing home advantage), this season Iranian champions Esteghlal did not even get to play in ACL (Esteghlal’s disqualification has already been fully discussed but the damage is done).
 

Therefore Iran’s hopes of success in Asia this season rest with Sepahan of Esfahan. As in previous seasons Iran’s representative in ACL is not the top club of the moment from Iranian league. Sepahan currently lie sixth in PGL and twelve points behind leaders Saipa. Sepahan have lost three of their last four league matches (including the last two), this week they kicked-off their ACL campaign against Syria’s Al Ittihad that are currently leading Syria’s league on 40 points.
 
Whilst Sepahan playing at home in front of 20,000 fans beat Ittihad 2-1 their performance was far from convincing if they are to make their mark in ACL. This is Sepahan’s third shot at the ACL in the last four seasons; competition is fierce with only the group winner qualifying for the quarter finals. Sepahan’s biggest challenge in this group is yet to come from the Saudi Champions Al Shabab, the two sides meet on March 21st when Sepahan take on Al Shabab on Saudi soil, if Sepahan are to win Group D then they must avoid defeat against Shabab this month and beat them in Esfahan in the return leg on May 23rd.
 
Then comes the former ACL Champions Al Ain of UAE, Iranian fans will remember Al Ain’s 3-3 draw with Paas FC two seasons ago which knocked Paas out on away goal rules (Paas had drawn with Al Ain 1-1 in UAE). Although Al Ain lost their opening match to Al Shabab 2-0 on March 7th and are now bottom of Group D they cannot be under-estimated with five matches left, I believe Sepahan played their easiest match of their ACL campaign of this season against Ittihad on March 7th, I expect Sepahan to face much tougher opposition when facing Al Ain and Al Shabab, the return leg of their match against Ittihad will be a tough one also, Sepahan will face 75,000 Syrian fans in the return match against Ittihad. In last season’s ACL Al Ittihad took four points from the Iranian Champions Foulad Khuzestan (beating Foulad in Iran) whilst Al Karama of Syria beat Saba Battery at home and away taking all 6 points, so the alarm bells are ringing for Sepahan despite the Iranian TV commentator claims during the match that Iranian football is head and shoulder above Syrian football (was a 2-1 home win sufficient to make this claim?).

I will round this article up with the following; as a consequence of Iranian clubs performing poorly in ACL in recent years Iranian clubs now face losing one of their two automatic spots in the ACL, this threat is for real and it would mean only the Iranian league (PGL) champions qualifying for ACL outright (not Hazfi Cup winner). Esteghlal’s disqualification from ACL this season could not have come at a worse time for Iranian football, an Iranian club qualifying to the knock-out stage of ACL this season might well secure the two automatic spots for Iranian clubs in ACL for the moment (and only for the moment), there is immense pressure on Sepahan for various reasons to win their group in ACL this season, if facts and statistics of recent ACL seasons are anything to go by (not mentioning Sepahan’s performance this season) I do not see Sepahan qualifying for the quarter finals this year which will have sever consequences for Iranian clubs in the years to come.

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