Gol Gohar Faces Memorable Rival Persepolis / 35 Years After Azadi Final, Al-Muharraq Meets Iran Again!

Tonight's opponent, Gol Gohar Sirjan in the AFC Champions League, is the same team that Persepolis defeated to win its only Asian trophy.

According to Sport Se, tonight the name of Al-Muharraq of Bahrain will once again be in the center of attention for Iranian football. Of course, this time, not Persepolis, but Golgohar Sirjan will face the old representative of Bahrain football. A team that has won many trophies in its history, but for Iranian football fans, especially Persepolis fans, it has a special memory of a historic final.

26 Mehr 1370; The night when Persepolis reached the top of Asia

To reach the last time when the name of Al-Muharraq played a role in a sweet Asian memory for Iranian football, we have to go back to the fall of 1370. When Persepolis, led by Ali Parveen, faced the representative of Bahrain in the final of the first round of the Asian Cup.

The first leg of the two teams ended in a goalless draw in Manama. Therefore, everything was drawn to the return match in Tehran; The match was held on 26 October at Azadi Stadium in the presence of a large crowd.

Persepolis played in that match with a combination of famous figures including Saeed Azizian, Mojtabi Moharrami, Mohammad Panjali, Hossein Abdi, Hamid Derakhshan, Farshad Pius and Naser Mohammad Khani. On the other hand, Al-Muharraq had also set foot in Azadi with the hope of winning the championship trophy.

The first half ended without a goal, but the knot of the match opened in the second half. When Mohammad Hassan Ansarifard opened Al-Muharraq's goal with a spectacular kick from a free kick to decide the fate of the final with that one goal. Persepolis won a total of two matches with a result of 1-0 and lifted the championship trophy.

That victory led Persepolis to the championship of the Asian Cup. A title that is still known as the only official championship of this club in the club competitions of the Asian continent. For this reason, the name of Al Muharraq is tied to the image of Ansari Fard's goal and the championship celebration at Azadi Stadium for Persepolis fans.

Now, in four days (October 26), the 35th anniversary of the same historic match will arrive; An interesting coincidence with the appearance of Al Muharraq again against an Iranian football representative, but just four days before the anniversary of that historic match, the representative of Bahrain will play against another Iranian team.

Al Muharraq, the old football giant of Bahrain

Al Muharraq is one of the most proud and oldest clubs in Bahrain and has been competing with other powers of this country for many years to win the trophy.

Al-Muharraq had a brilliant performance last season and won both the Premier League championship and the elimination cup of this country. In the past years, this team has also had a history of success in regional and Asian competitions and won the AFC Cup in 2021; An honor that established its position beyond a purely domestic team.

However, the new season has not started well for the defending champions. Al-Muharraq lost a lot of points in the first weeks of the Bahrain League and is currently in the 11th place and one away from the bottom of the Bahrain League table, having won only 2 points from 4 matches! A position that does not match the expectations from last season's champion at all.

The 1-0 defeat against Arkadag of Turkmenistan in the first match of the group stage of the Asian Champions League 2 also made Al Muharraq's continental start difficult. In this way, the meeting with Golgohar is an opportunity for the representative of Bahrain to make up for the unsuccessful start and return to the path of competition in the group.

Portuguese coach and change on the bench

Al-Muharraq has recently entrusted the leadership of the team to Helder Cristovao, a 55-year-old Portuguese head coach. After ending his playing career and entering the world of coaching, Cristovao gained experience working in clubs in Portugal and Saudi Arabia and was in charge of Benfica's second team for several years. His last club experience before coming to Bahrain was working in Penafil Portugal.

This coach started his work in Al-Muharraq in a situation where the team needs to organize the results of the domestic league and collect important points in the Asian competitions from the very beginning. The defeat in the first group game has made the match with Golgohar more important for him and his team.

Foreign stars next to the Bahraini national team

The composition of Al Muharraq is a combination of experienced Bahraini players and some foreign faces. In the offensive line of this team, Juninho, the Brazilian striker, is one of the notable names of this team. Facundo Tobares, the Argentinian striker, and Elliot Simues, the Angolan offensive player, are also other important offensive options of Al Muharraq.

In the middle line, the Brazilian Arthur Razandeh and Mohammad Al-Hardan, the midfielder of the Bahraini national team, are among the figures who can play a role in the circulation of the ball and the organization of the team's game. In the defense line, Amin Benadi and Bruno Santos are considered to be experienced players of this team.

Al Muharraq achieved success in Bahrain football last season by relying on this experienced team. However, the results of recent weeks show that the champion of the previous season still needs time to reach stability in the new season.

from Manama to Oman; A host that reached the neutral ground

But the story of today's meeting with Golgohar, before it started on the field, was formed outside the green rectangle. According to the original plan, Al-Muharraq should have hosted Iran's representative in Manama, but the issue of issuing visas to Golgohar caravan members and the political situation between the two countries took this match to another direction.

From the beginning, Golgohar Club wanted to hold the game on a neutral ground; A request that was not approved at the first stage. As the problem of issuing visas for the Iranian caravan continued, the venue of the match was finally changed and the Asian Football Confederation announced that the match will be held at the Al-Seeb Stadium in Oman.

This decision means that al-Muharraq will not play in their home country despite being on paper as hosts. On the other hand, Golghar faced a difficult journey to reach Oman; According to the announcement of this club, the route reached from Sirjan to Tehran, then Najaf and Baghdad and finally Muscat and covered about 3500 kilometers.

In this way, the competition that should have been held in Manama, is now held in Oman; The match, the conditions of which will be held, before the start of the game, has become one of the remarkable topics of this week in Asian football.

The memorable opponent of Persepolis, the new obstacle for Golgohar

Al-Muharraq enters the field today with the motivation to make up for its first Asian defeat, and Golgohar is also looking for an important result in the group. The difference in the conditions of the two teams and the difficulty of the Iranian representative's journey have added to the importance of this match.

For Persepolis fans, the name Al-Muharraq is reminiscent of Mohammad Hassan Ansarifard's goal and the trophy that was won at the Azadi Stadium in the fall of 1970, but for Golgohar, this team is no longer a part of a nostalgic memory, but a serious opponent in the Asian competition.

Today in Oman, Al Muharraq and Gol Ghar are looking for three points; Four days before the anniversary of the night when the same Bahraini team, by defeating Persepolis, opened the gate of one of Iran's most enduring football championships.