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Asian Champions League: Al Ain v Pas [Thu Sep 15th, 2005]
The 2003 champions host the first leg against a team enjoying their first ever continental competition.
Al Ain (UAE) - Pas (Iran)
Al Ain know all about the demands involved in embarking upon a successful UEFA Champions League campaign, as the Middle Easterners lifted the trophy in 2003 but fell at the quarter-final stage last year.
In a close group, Al Ain finished above Pas’s domestic rivals, Sepahan and will be happy to face Iranian competition again.
For Pas, this is their first contintental campaign and are the first Iranian team to progress past the group stage of the Champions League.
Pas aren’t able to bring in big names from abroad, but the news that talismanic midfielder Javed Nekounam, who was courted by Kaiserslautern, was going to stay until the end of the competition was like a new signing, and the international midfielder will want to help the Teheran team capture the title.
John Duerden
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