TEHRAN, Oct. 22 -- Iran's Persepolis FC coach Branko Ivankovic said his men are ready for the difficult match against Qatari giants Al Sadd on Tuesday, Tehran Times daily reported on Monday.
The Iranian side will host Al Sadd in Tehran's Azadi Stadium in the second leg of the AFC Champions League semifinals.
Persepolis secured a 1-0 win despite enjoying just 33 percent of play and having only two shots on target in early October in Doha.
"First, I have to say this is a great honor for us to be here in the competition's semifinal. We have booked a place in last four for the second successive year. We met Al Sadd in group stage and it showed how difficult our group was," Ivankovic said in the pre-match news conference.
"We expect a beautiful performance against Al Sadd. Our fans have always supported us and they will be supportive on Tuesday once again. We want to make our fans happy because we play for them," the Croat added.
"Al Sadd are a strong team with Spanish stars Xavi, Gabi and Algerian Baghdad Bounedjah as well as eight Qatari national team players. We've analyzed the way they defeated Esteghlal in Tehran and it proves that we have a difficult match against them," he said.