The Iranian giants are scheduled to meet Al Wahda from United Arab Emirates in Group E opener on Wednesday.

Golmohammadi’s side head into the tournament having assumed top spot in the Iran Professional League and they will be eager to maintain their form in the continental showpiece.

Persepolis hold a better head to head record, with the Iranian club winning twice in 2017, while Al Wahda’s last victory against them was back in 2011.

Persepolis, having lost the 2018 and 2020 AFC Champions League finals, are well-prepared to face Al Wahda, the coach said.

“We know that there is a difficult task ahead of us since all the teams in the group want to book a place in the next stage. We are ready for the six matches in the group stage and I hope we can make our fans happy,” Golmohammadi said in the pre-match news conference.

“We are motivated and ready for the competition and I have to say we have a generation of the players who fight to win and this is our strong point. The players are concentrating to book a place in the final for a third time,” he added.

“I hope we advance to the next stage as the group winners. Al Wahda are a good team and the match against them will not be an easy game for us,” Golmohammadi stated.

The post Persepolis aim to reach ACL final: Golmohammadi appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Speaking in a presser on Friday, Golmohammadi voiced his respect for the Korean team, however, noting that Persepolis is in Doha only for winning the title.

“It is a difficult final match that is extremely important for both teams. Both teams put in a lot of effort and went through difficult days to reach here, so both teams are here on merit and I expect one of the most exciting matches in Asian football,” said Golmohammadi, the AFC reported.

“Ulsan Hyundai is a very good team, and they are fighters just like us. We are Persepolis and we have one objective which is to win the AFC Champions League. I promise Persepolis fans that we will fight from start to finish and give everything to bring the trophy home and bring joy to our fans.”

Both Persepolis and Ulsan Hyundai are appearing in their second final, with the Koreans having defeated Al Ahli Saudi FC to win the 2012 title and Persepolis having lost the 2018 final to Japan’s Kashima Antlers.

Under the guidance of former defender Yahya Golmohammadi, Persepolis recovered from losing their first game of the campaign to top Group C, then continued their march to the final. Should they win the title, they would become the first to do so after losing their opening match since Western Sydney Wanderers in 2014.

Meanwhile, Ulsan Hyundai is eyeing an improvement on a record they already own, having been the last team to win the AFC Champions League without losing a single match. Back in 2012, they drew two matches out of 12, but with one match to go in the current edition, the Ulsan-based side would lift the trophy with 10 wins and one draw should they overcome Persepolis without needing penalty shootouts.

Head coach Kim Do-hoon said Ulsan Hyundai is well prepared for the final.

The post Golmohammadi expects ACL final to be ‘exciting’ match appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The post Golmohammadi Thanked Persepolis Players for Hard Work appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Persepolis was held to a 2-2 draw against the Emirati Club in Group C on Tuesday. The result put the Iranian team in third place with just one point.

“We wanted to win the match with Shrajah and had a good start but lost our concentration. We went ahead twice but they returned to the match,” Yahya Golmohammadi said.

“We have conceded four goals in two matches and we need to fix our defensive problems. We could have scored in the second half but missed our chances,” he added.

“Without a doubt, we are the favorite to qualify for the next stage. We will host Al Duhail and Sharjah in Tehran and we can beat them with support of our fans. I think we will qualify for the next round if we have a little chance and more concentration,” Golmohammadi concluded.

The post Yahya Golmohammadi: Persepolis Not Concentrated against Sharjah appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Persepolis lost to Qatari club 2-0 in their first match of Group C of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League.

Two early goals from Mario Mandzukic and Edmilson Junior earned Al Duhail FC a 2-0 victory over Persepolis on Tuesday.

“We expected a difficult match but we made so many mistakes and Al Duhail punished us for a couple of mistakes.” Golmohammadi said.

“After conceding two early goals we tried to score but the Qatari side played an intense and closed game and of course their goalkeeper had a good day” he added.

The Reds put the hosts under pressure in the second half and created several scoring chances but failed to score.

Golmohammadi believes that Al Duhail made the most of their chances to score against his side.

“They had only three chances and scored two goals. In the second half, we sent our attacking players to the pitch but were unable to score. Conceding two goals was just an unfortunate phase we went through. We had a bad start and we were not focused during the game and that caused problems for our team” he said.

Persepolis travels to Sharjah next week, while Al Duhail makes the trip west to Buraidah where they face Al Taawoun on Matchday Two.

The post Al Duhail Defeated Persepolis for Our Faults; Coach Says appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Golmohammadi parted ways with Shahr Khodro football club by mutual consent on Monday and took charge of Persepolis.

The 49-year-old coach has replaced Argentine coach Gabriel Calderon who didn’t return to Persepolis after the Iranian club failed to meet his expectations.

Under the stewardship of Calderon, the Reds sit three points clear at the top of the table.

In his second stint in Persepolis, Golmohammadi has a difficult task ahead since the Reds have won Iran Professional League (IPL) in the past three years and are looking forward to achieving the trophy for the fourth time in a row.

Yahya Golmohammadi is mostly remembered for his tears after scoring against the Republic of Ireland in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA–AFC play-off). He burst into tears after the final whistle in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, since Team Melli failed to book a place to the 2002 World Cup because they had lost to the Greens 2-0 five days earlier in Dublin.

Golmohammadi, who has also played for Persepolis for seven years, started his coaching career in Saba in 2008 and has also coached Tractor, Nassaji, Zob Ahan, and Naft Tehran.

The post New Persepolis Coach: Yahya Golmohammadi appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The post Yahya Golmohammadi extends contract with Padideh appeared first on Iran News Daily.