Fighting Spirit Took Persepolis into 2020 ACL Final, Says Resan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Midfielder Bashar Resan said Persepolis FC's fighting spirit sealed them a place in the 2020 AFC Champions League final as the Iran side saw off Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr in the semi-final on Saturday.
After 120 minutes of the semi-final which ended in a 1-1 draw at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, the Iranian team defeated Al-Nassr 5-3 on penalties.
“Our target coming into the tournament was to reach the final and we delivered after great performances in all our matches in Doha," said Iraqi midfielder Resan.
“We knew that we would reach the final after defeating (Qatar's) Al-Sadd (in the Round of 16) as it, along with Al-Hilal (SFC of Saudi Arabia), were the only two teams who could stop us,” he added.
The run to the final was built on a solid defensive base and Resan congratulated his teammates.
“Our defense was great as the two goals we conceded (in Doha) were from penalties. Al-Nassr is a good team but we played against them with 10 men and they weren't able to score (again),” said Resan.
Resan also hailed the impact of head coach Yahya Golmohammadi, whose half-time pep talk inspired the players to target the win.
“The coach told us at half time that we would be able to win the match. We had great fighting spirit as we were not only representing Persepolis fans but all of Iran,” he added
“The fighting spirit of the players helped us fight for more than 120 minutes. We showed great effort and the solidarity of the players helped us achieve our target,” Resan, who was named the Man of the Match, concluded.
