Alireza Beiranvand Reveals Why He Stays at Persepolis
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Alireza Beiranvand said he opted to stay at Persepolis following his superb FIFA World Cup showing because he owed it to the club after they suffered a number of departures in the off-season.
Iran gained many plaudits in Russia after defeating Morocco, drawing with Portugal and running Spain close as it almost qualified for the knockout round for the first time.
Among numerous excellent performances from Team Melli, Beiranvand was arguably the standout player and was heavily linked with a move away from Persepolis after the tournament.
But, having chosen to stay in the Iranian capital, he heads into Tuesday’s 2018 AFC Champions League semi-final second leg against Qatar’s Al Sadd with Persepolis 1-0 up and knowing that if they avoid defeat a first ever place in the final will be secured.
“After the World Cup we lost four or five good players and because of our transfer ban we couldn’t bring anyone in,” said the 26-year-old ahead of the clash at Azadi Stadium.
“I had won the domestic championship for the past two years, but I felt I owed it to Persepolis to stay here for the AFC Champions League because I didn’t want to leave the club in a difficult situation.
“I have no regrets because now we are in the top four teams in Asia and have a great chance to make it to the final.”
“We managed to win the first leg in Qatar because we were so well organized, but I have no doubt the second leg will be a tough game,” admitted Beiranvand.
“I told my teammates that because we won the first game, the expectations have increased even further, but we should not forget that we beat Al Sadd in the group stage in Tehran this season, so this is something we must do again to make our supporters happy.”
Al Sadd was the last team from the West to win the AFC Champions League, when it defeated Korea Republic’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on penalties in the 2011 final.
With a 100 percent home record and a one-goal advantage, Persepolis will start the second leg as slight favorite to advance to a final that would see the second leg played on home turf.
“It’s hard [to win the AFC Champions League] but we will give it everything we have to achieve this goal,” added Beinranvand.
“Al Sadd has great strikers such as (Akram) Afif and (Baghdad) Bounedjah, so we will need our fans to give us great support so we have the energy to fight on the pitch. I’m sure all Iranians will be supporting Persepolis on Tuesday and if we can beat Al Sadd we will start to plan for the final,” he concluded.
