Hashemi-Nasab: We climbed without a national cap / In the absence of Esteghlal and Persepolis, we were a good representative

Mehdi Hashemi Nasab, in an interview with a sports reporter of Fars News Agency, about the promotion of Khuzestan Steel to the next stage of the Asian Champions League after a difficult and stressful month, said: When the games are held in a centralized manner, it has its own difficulty has it. Our group was not easy either. Al-Gharafah’s foreign players were really a head and shoulders above many teams. Al-Ahly was the same. We did not have a comfortable group, but God helped. With the perseverance and efforts of the children, the staffing measures and the good prayers of the people, we were able to climb out of this group as the first team that we deserved.

Men’s steel players played tactically with their hearts

The coach of Khuzestan Steel said: “Maybe we reached our lowest level.” We could have won the other two games by a margin, but I’m glad we were able to get paid for our efforts. Congratulations to our kids and friends. They really played with their hearts. Reaching the top 16 teams on the continent with steel that has less experience in Asia anyway is a big deal. I am happy that we were able to make the hearts of the people of Khuzestan and Iran happy and be a worthy representative for the country’s football.

Referring to the efforts of the steel players, he stated: “Without the national team, we were able to climb very powerfully.” I hope that in the elimination stage, we will be able to be a worthy representative and that the children will play very masculine, with tact and tactics, so that we can achieve our desires. Really 25 days of playing in the Asian Champions League and once every 4 days, those are heavy games and in this humidity and weather conditions, it is not an easy task. But we were in good condition, both physically and tactically, and we were able to climb thankfully.

The condition of the people was the same as last year

The coach of Foolad said that the Turkmen team had a good performance as the last team in the group, so that they scored 4 goals in the last game against Al-Gharafa: “It was a very strong and tactical team, but they were inexperienced.” Meanwhile, the foreign players of other teams saved this team. Maybe if one of the stars of Al-Ahly or Al-Gharafah were in Ahl, he would have dared to climb, but he ate the stick of his inexperience. As we did last year, despite the good games we played against Al-Sadd and Al-Nasr, our inexperience prevented us from climbing. Ahal was almost like us last year, but this year we played much higher football than our group.

Hashemi-Nasab said that despite the exclusion of Esteghlal and Persepolis and also the elimination of Sepahan, Foolad Khuzestan climbed without a loss and with only two goals conceded: “We definitely came to climb as the first team.” We knew we had hard work, but we believed in the ability of the children. They fought really manly. We were a team. Both those who played and those who were on the podium. Even the medical and logistics team and … we were all united. Perhaps this unanimity had a much greater impact than other issues. The kids really played with their hearts. Congratulations to each and every one of them. God willing, we will be able to continue the same trend in the league in order to find a better position for Foolad.

He added: “In any case, Esteghlal and Persepolis were eliminated, but they are really the identity card of the Asian Champions League.” All the teams have a strange fear of these two good representatives of our country. I think we were able to be a good representative for our country in the absence of Esteghlal and Persepolis, and despite the unfortunate elimination of Sepahan. God willing, we will continue the same process in the next stages and achieve more success.

We deserve good results with the experience of Nekounam and the difficulties we face

“It definitely is,” the Steel coach said of his conversations inside the team locker room and that he seemed to have a good relationship with the players. I always talk in my locker room. Of course, this is not a technical or tactical issue. It is a motivational debate. I think all of us Iranians and footballers are even willing to work beyond our means when it comes to family. At least for me, the family is the red line. If one day I can not, I will fight much more for their happiness. I think the feeling was conveyed to the players. Nothing is more valuable than family, parents.

Hashemi Nasab said about how long the steel ambition will continue and whether they are satisfied with this climb: “No, we still have a long way to go.” We got the quota for the first year. We were eliminated from Asia for the second year. We climbed now and in the third year. Steel has a lot to say. We did a great job with this wealth we had. Rest assured that in the years to come, we deserve good results, given the experience Nekounam has, the work we see, the hardships we endure, and the day-to-day efforts we make. Our players are worthy too. They train and fight with all their might. On the day of the match, they give their all for the team.

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