In the quarter final of Iran’s Cup, Pas of Hamedan will host Persepolis at Qods Stadium today.
Thanks to the easy advance to the next round of the 2009 Asian Football Confederation Champions League, the Tehran-based club is in a good state.
They were unable to show a good performance in the 8th edition of Iran’s Premier League (IPL), where they finished 5th. They, however, put all they have in Hazfi Cup to reserve a place in the continental tournament.
One of the team coaches, Naeem Sa’davi, said that players are mentally ready for the game.

Persepolis players in a training session

He said, “We know our rival very well. Pas is one of the good teams in the IPL. If we want to be victorious, our players have to show their best,“ IRNA quoted him as saying.
Persepolis captain Karim Baqeri and the team’s striker Mohsen Khalili will not kick for the Reds due to injury.
Meanwhile Persepolis’ Portuguese coach Nelo Vingada said that his side has no other option but to defeat Pas.
In an interview with ISNA, he said, “I know this game as a final match. Predicting Hazfi Cup results are almost impossible. I know Persepolis was beaten by Pas last year, but I wish we would defeat them.“
On the other side Pas Head Coach Vingo Begovic said that his side is fully motivated for the match.
“We know that Persepolis will show its best here. They want to make up their poor results in the IPL. They have many big names but I am sure Pas will be the victor.“
Asked about his cooperation with Pas, he said, “There’s more than a year left to the end of my contract. The club has many young players and I would like to stay at the club.“
In the other game of this stage Saba Battery will host Mes of Rafsanjan at Qom’s Yadegare Emam Stadium.
Mes defeated Esteqlal and Malavan before facing Saba. They hope they can beat Saba at home to reach to the next round.
Saba didn’t play well in the ACL. In its last match against Al-Hilal it was defeated 1-0.
It was the third straight loss in Group A for Saba Battery, who has been eliminated from the competition after managing only two points from five games.
In a post match press conference, Karimi said that his team’s heavy fixture list finally caught up with them as they bowed out of contention in the ACL.
Having seen IPL rivals, such as Sepahan and Esteqlal, also fall at the group stage of the Champions League, Saba Battery boss feels that the heavy schedule has had an adverse effect on the Iranian teams in the ACL.
“Sepahan, Esteqlal and we have suffered because of the league pressures. In less than eight months we’ve played 40 matches.
“Even before the match, our focus was on the Hazfi Cup.“
The Hazfi Cup or Iran’s Cup is a knockout cup competition in Iranian football, run by the IFF. The competition wasn’t regarded important by clubs until the IRIFF decided to award one of Iran’s four AFC Champions League spots to the champion.
The current Hazfi Cup holder is Esteqlal.

Real Madrid captain Raul has confirmed interest from Manchester City in his services but insists he wants to finish his career at the Bernabeu.
Spanish media this week claimed City was hoping to tempt the 31-year-old forward to England in a massive deal, and although Mark Hughes subsequently played down the reports, Raul revealed in Marca that there had been contact.
However, Real’s all-time record goal scorer, who made his debut for the Spanish giants 15 years ago, was also adamant that he has no intention of leaving his home-town club despite rumors of a lucrative four-year contract worth Û40 million.
“It’s true that there has been contact with my representative Gines Carvajal from Manchester City, but I’ve not considered it because I’m not going to leave here“ the 31-year-old said.
“I’m only thinking about finishing my career at Real Madrid, which is my club and where I still have many things to do.
“When they told me of City’s offer I didn’t have a single moment’s doubt. My place is here and I still think I can help the team win titles.“
Raul’s agent Carvajal added, “Yes, it’s true that there has been interest and nothing more.
“When I told Raul about the offer he told me he didn’t want to waste time on this matter. City has a good project, but Raul is a Real Madrid man.“
Raul will play his 699th match for Real this weekend against Valencia. Madrid need a win in order to prolong the title race with leader Barcelona for another week.
City seems desperate to land a big name before the start of next season, having already been heavily linked with Kaka at the start of the year and Samuel Eto’o last month.

Kobe Bryant

After jawing with Shane Battier and Ron Artest for much of Game 2, Kobe Bryant let his shooting send the message that the Lakers are back in control of the series.
Bryant scored 33 points and Los Angeles took a 2-1 lead in its Western Conference semifinal with a 108-94 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night, AP said.
He sank a 33-footer just before the end of the third quarter to put the Lakers up by 12, then struck a frozen pose at midcourt to silence the capacity crowd. The Rockets got no closer than six the rest of the way.
“I’m just doing what I do best,“ Bryant said, “just challenging other teams to try to do something with me. We, as a team, play off of that. It’s on me to be aggressive.“
Lamar Odom had 16 points and 13 rebounds and reserve point guard Jordan Farmar had 12 points and seven assists in place of the suspended Derek Fisher, who was ejected from Game 2 for a hard hit on Luis Scola when he set a pick. Artest scored 25 points before he was ejected for a flagrant foul on Pau Gasol in the final minute, the only sign of carryover from the rough play that turned testy in Game 2. Artest was ejected from Game 2 for a verbal altercation with Bryant following Bryant’s elbow to Artest’s upper chest.

Lorena Ochoa looks as if she’s on the verge of turning the Michelob Ultra Open into a runaway. Not that she wants to think about it.
“It’s never good to think that way,“ Ochoa said Friday after shooting a 6-under 65 for a tournament-record 13-under total and a three-shot lead. “I’m going to play like if I’m behind for two or three shots. I never like to think I’m winning.“
But she is, and looking mighty comfortable.
According to AP, Ochoa, also the first-round leader, took advantage of perfect playing conditions and soft greens to get eight birdies, matching her total from Thursday. Only two bogeys in her last four holes kept her from putting herself even further out of reach of her pursuers.
And it’s not as if the rest of the field rolled over. On the contrary, In-Kyung Kim, Song-Hee Kim and Cristie Kerr all finished 10 under, and all three played better than Ochoa.
Still, coming off a wire-to-wire victory two weeks ago in Mexico, Ochoa has been the leader after six consecutive rounds and looks as if she might be on one of her rolls.

Louis Van Gaal

Louis Van Gaal, the coach of newly crowned Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar, is set to take over at Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, according to reports on Saturday.
According to Algemeen Dagblad newspaper Van Gaal has already agreed terms with the German champion to take over as of next season and will make an official announcement in the coming days.
The report added that Andries Jonker, the current technical director of Dutch side Willem II Tilburg and who was Van Gaal’s assistant at Spanish giants Barcelona from 1997 to 2000 will join Van Gaal at Bayern.
AZ president Dirk Scheringa declared last Monday the club would not allow Van Gaal to leave the club.
“Louis is under contract until 2010,“ Scheringa told the website of Dutch magazine sportweek.
“I’m not worried about anything as Van Gaal is a man of principle who always respects his contracts. And we’ve not been contacted by Bayern.“