Persepolis, who defeated Al Hilal 1-0 in the first leg in Tehran, was knocked out of AFC Champions League after suffering a 3-0 defeat.
“I want to thank my players who put in a strong performance in such a big match,” said the Croatian, who took over at the club in March. “We tried our best to make a good comeback after conceding the first goal but things were settled after the second goal of Al Hilal.”
“I want to congratulate Al Hilal and their fans for their win as they deserved to qualify to the next round,” said the former Iranian national football team coach.
“I know Al Hilal very well but the reaction that I was looking for from my players was missing. Al Hilal is a strong team and they are one of the favorite to win the title as they reached the final of the competition last year."
“My knowledge of Al Hilal didn’t mean that we could beat them tonight and the players couldn’t achieve the result that we were looking for," he said.