TEHRAN – Persepolis football team coach Yahya Golmohammadi says that Tajikistan’s Istiklol are a dangerous team and they must be careful of the team’s attacking power.

The Iranian giants will meet Istiklol on Tuesday at the Central Republican Stadium in Dushanbe in the 2021 AFC Champions league Round of 16.

“First of all, I would like to thank the Tajik people for their hospitality. There are many cultural similarities between Iranians and Tajiks. We feel we are at home here in Tajikistan. I hope the good relationships between two countries become stronger. We speak the same language. Farsi is a poetic and an important language in the world. We must be proud of our language and cultural heritage,” Golmohammadi said in the pre-match news conference.

“Istiklol are an organized team and they defend well. They are a dangerous team on the counter attack. We are well aware of their attacking power and have ways to control their players. I hope we can perform our tactics in the match against them,” he added.

“We endured hardship to reach this stage. Persepolis players are experienced and we will fight till our last breath. I trust my players and hope we advance to the next stage,” the Persepolis coach stated.

“Persepolis have not played on their home soil for about 900 days due to the Covid-19 restrictions and also sanctions. We are the most popular football team in Asia and need to play at our home. Our players have always shown that they play with winning mentality. We always play for victory and honor.

“Football is for friendship and we respect our opponents. Tomorrow can be a celebration for friendship between the nations and governments,” Golmohammadi concluded.