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TEHRAN, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Persepolis head coach Branko Ivankovic said Monday that despite being in the toughest group of AFC Champions League, his side will make every effort to qualify for the next round and make the Iranian fans happy.
"This group. which contains Persepolis as the best Iranian team, Al Hilal as the Saudi Arabia champions, Al Rayyan as the QSL champions and Al Wahda as one of the best Emirati teams, is definitely the group of death in this season's AFC Champions League," Ivankovic was quoted as saying by Tehran Times daily.
"The most important game is the match against Al Hilal since it is our first game. As you know the first game is always the most important as it could decide the fate of a team in the tournament," he said.
"We have the full respect for Al Hilal as they have a great squad but we have our own strategy. We would like to make our fans happy with a decent performance. We need to grab the points from the very first in order to ensure the qualification from this group," he added.
Persepolis will open their campaign in Group D against two-time continental champions Al Hilal at Muscat's Sultan Qaboos Stadium on Tuesday at 19:00 local time.
In the other Group D match on Tuesday, Qatar Stars League champions Al Rayyan, under the guidance of Michael Laudrup, will host Al Wahda of the United Arab Emirates. Enditem
