Wigan's official website report---pre-game:
Hutch in confident mood as Latics face The Red Army
Assistant Manager Chris Hutchings is looking forward to Latics' first pre-season match, against Iranian side Perspolis tonight.
Latics assistant manager Chris Hutchings says tonight will be Latics' first chance to put all the hard work of the last few weeks into practice when they take on the unknown quantity of Perspolis of Teheran, who carry the unwieldy nickname of 'The Red Army'.
Iranian football has received a huge shot in the arm with the national side reaching the World Cup Finals in Germany, and although they went home after the first round of matches, the team performed very well and did not disgrace itself.
Perspolis finished 9th in their national league last season. Nicknamed The Red Army they are one of Iran's most famous clubs, who spawned current national team stars such Ali Karimi, now at Bayern Munich and Ali Daei. They play in the 90,000 capacity Azadi Stadium in the Iranian capital.
"The players have been working so hard in pre-season," said Hutchings, "and tonight we'll get the first real chance to put some of that work into practice. Of course, these games are really about getting the lads back up to match fitness but that's not to say that we won't be approaching them professionally."
Hutchings added: "It's a chance for all the players to show us what they can do, especially the new players, so in that respect there's still plenty to play for. From my point of view it'll just be nice to get back in the dug out and I'm looking forward to the game.
"It'll be strange because there won't be a crowd there but we're going to use it as an important training exercise."
Make sure you log on to Wigan Athletic's Official Website TONIGHT to get all the news from Latics' first pre-season friendly of the summer.
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More from their site on the game:
Persepolis v Latics
Wigan will play one of the Iranian Premier League's biggest clubs on Tuesday night on their pre-season training camp in Austria, but just who are they? Read on to find out more.
Persepolis Tehran are one of two of the most supported clubs in the Iranian Premier League, which only became professional five years ago. The club are nicknamed "The Red Army", but are also know as Pirouzi, which means "Victory" in the Persian language. They play their home games at the Azadi Stadium which has a capacity of 90,000 and was built in 1974 to host the Asian Summer Games. It's also the stadium where the Iranian national team play their home matches.
Persepolis are one of seven teams which reside in Iran's capital Tehran in the 16-team division, and can attract crowds of up to 35,000. The club were Iran's first ever league champions in 1960 under their former name Shahin FC, and their last championship came at the end of the 2001/02 season. In total, they've won their country's championship eight times.
However, last season saw Persepolis' lowest ever finish in the Iranian Premier League as they stumbled to an uncharacteristic mid-table 9th position.
There were two players in Persepolis' current squad who were involved in their national team in the World Cup in Germany earlier this summer.
Javad Kazemeian (pictured wearing Number 8) is an attack minded midfielder who can operate on both wings. Although the 24-year old did not take part in any of Iran's group games in the World Cup, he finished last season as top scorer for his club with 11 goals, and the fifth highest in Iranian league overall. Kazemeian has also played alongside Iran's superstar Ali Karimi, now of Bayern Munich, whilst the duo played for Al Ahli in Dubai.
21-year old midfielder Mehrzad Madanchi (pictured right) did play in all three of Iran's group games at the World Cup this summer. The left winger started his career in the lower leagues, but signed for Persepolis last summer after a string of impressive performances.
Even though both players have traditionally played in the midfield, manager Arie Haan has played both up front in attack which worked to great effect as Madanchi fired in seven goals in the Iranian Cup.
58-year old Haan (pictured below), has been at Persepolis since February 2006 and is originally from the Netherlands. He has previously managed Belgian clubs Antwerp and Anderlecht in the 1980's before going on to Germany where he managed Stuttgart and Nuremberg.
He returned to Belgium with Standard Liege for two years before he was given a chance to manage Feyenoord in his homeland for two years. After another spell with Anderlecht, Haan had spells with PAOK Saloniki in Greece, Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus, and then Austria Vienna.
The Dutchman managed the Chinese national team between 2002-2004 before taking up his current post. He will be expected to guide Persepolis to a title challenge over the next season, which starts in September.
Hutch in confident mood as Latics face The Red Army
Assistant Manager Chris Hutchings is looking forward to Latics' first pre-season match, against Iranian side Perspolis tonight.
Latics assistant manager Chris Hutchings says tonight will be Latics' first chance to put all the hard work of the last few weeks into practice when they take on the unknown quantity of Perspolis of Teheran, who carry the unwieldy nickname of 'The Red Army'.
Iranian football has received a huge shot in the arm with the national side reaching the World Cup Finals in Germany, and although they went home after the first round of matches, the team performed very well and did not disgrace itself.
Perspolis finished 9th in their national league last season. Nicknamed The Red Army they are one of Iran's most famous clubs, who spawned current national team stars such Ali Karimi, now at Bayern Munich and Ali Daei. They play in the 90,000 capacity Azadi Stadium in the Iranian capital.
"The players have been working so hard in pre-season," said Hutchings, "and tonight we'll get the first real chance to put some of that work into practice. Of course, these games are really about getting the lads back up to match fitness but that's not to say that we won't be approaching them professionally."
Hutchings added: "It's a chance for all the players to show us what they can do, especially the new players, so in that respect there's still plenty to play for. From my point of view it'll just be nice to get back in the dug out and I'm looking forward to the game.
"It'll be strange because there won't be a crowd there but we're going to use it as an important training exercise."
Make sure you log on to Wigan Athletic's Official Website TONIGHT to get all the news from Latics' first pre-season friendly of the summer.
---------------------
More from their site on the game:
Persepolis v Latics
Wigan will play one of the Iranian Premier League's biggest clubs on Tuesday night on their pre-season training camp in Austria, but just who are they? Read on to find out more.
Persepolis Tehran are one of two of the most supported clubs in the Iranian Premier League, which only became professional five years ago. The club are nicknamed "The Red Army", but are also know as Pirouzi, which means "Victory" in the Persian language. They play their home games at the Azadi Stadium which has a capacity of 90,000 and was built in 1974 to host the Asian Summer Games. It's also the stadium where the Iranian national team play their home matches.
Persepolis are one of seven teams which reside in Iran's capital Tehran in the 16-team division, and can attract crowds of up to 35,000. The club were Iran's first ever league champions in 1960 under their former name Shahin FC, and their last championship came at the end of the 2001/02 season. In total, they've won their country's championship eight times.
However, last season saw Persepolis' lowest ever finish in the Iranian Premier League as they stumbled to an uncharacteristic mid-table 9th position.
There were two players in Persepolis' current squad who were involved in their national team in the World Cup in Germany earlier this summer.
Javad Kazemeian (pictured wearing Number 8) is an attack minded midfielder who can operate on both wings. Although the 24-year old did not take part in any of Iran's group games in the World Cup, he finished last season as top scorer for his club with 11 goals, and the fifth highest in Iranian league overall. Kazemeian has also played alongside Iran's superstar Ali Karimi, now of Bayern Munich, whilst the duo played for Al Ahli in Dubai.
21-year old midfielder Mehrzad Madanchi (pictured right) did play in all three of Iran's group games at the World Cup this summer. The left winger started his career in the lower leagues, but signed for Persepolis last summer after a string of impressive performances.
Even though both players have traditionally played in the midfield, manager Arie Haan has played both up front in attack which worked to great effect as Madanchi fired in seven goals in the Iranian Cup.
58-year old Haan (pictured below), has been at Persepolis since February 2006 and is originally from the Netherlands. He has previously managed Belgian clubs Antwerp and Anderlecht in the 1980's before going on to Germany where he managed Stuttgart and Nuremberg.
He returned to Belgium with Standard Liege for two years before he was given a chance to manage Feyenoord in his homeland for two years. After another spell with Anderlecht, Haan had spells with PAOK Saloniki in Greece, Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus, and then Austria Vienna.
The Dutchman managed the Chinese national team between 2002-2004 before taking up his current post. He will be expected to guide Persepolis to a title challenge over the next season, which starts in September.
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