Group
F: Iran 
Page
2
 Coach: Jalal Talebi 14.06.98
Saint-Etienne 21.06.98 Lyon 25.06.98
Montpellier Team Colors:
White, White pants, White socks Confederation:
AFC Second appearance in the
World Cup finals (1978,1998) Three time winner of the
Asian Championship (1968,1972,1976) Key players: F Ali
Daei (Arminia Bielefeld, Germany), D Karim Bagheri (Arminia
Bielefeld), F Khodadad Azizi
(Cologne). Iran vs.
Nigeria Keep an Eye on:
Khodadad Azizi: Talented attacking midfielder, the
Asian player of the year. Scored the winning goal
against Australia. Karim Bagheri : The
leading scorer in1998 qualification with 17
goals. Medhi Mahdavkin: Rated as
a a tough opponent Ali Daei: Plays in
Germany; the team's overall leading
scorer. Analysis: Who's
the coach? Jalal Talebi is the most recent manager.
Vieira, Ivic? Gone because they "didn't understand
the nuances of the Iranian style of
play"...whatever that means. Squad is merely
average, but no team will have more pressure to
succeed. Unlikely to make second round. Look for both sides to
make political hay of the United States vs. Iran
game on June 21. Emotions might skew the encounter
into a haymaker. History: For
several years now Iran has been one of the powers
in Asian football. The Iranian federation was
founded in 1920 but did not become afilliated with
FIFA until 1945. It was only at the 1964 Olympics
in Tokyo that the national team had its first taste
of international competition. In 1968 Iran became
Asian Champions. It was to herald the start of a
reign of domination in the region and one of the
best periods in Iranian football. Two more Asian
championships (1972 and 1976) and in 1978 their
first ever appearance in the finals of the World
Cup in Argentina. Iran were beaten 3-1 by Holland,
lost 4-1 to Peru but managed an impressive 0-0 draw
against Scotland. The team, with such stars as Ali
Parvin, returned to Iran with their eyes firmly
fixed on Spain in 1982. But shortly after their
return revolution broke out, throwing the country
into chaos. In 1980 Iran and Iraq were at war and
football was quickly relegated in
importance. The 1980's were difficult
for Iranian football. Despite such talented players
as Changeeze Khan, Farshad Pious, Karim Bavi and
Sirous Ghiaghran, the national team were unable to
dominate Asia. After the war in 1988, Iran began to
again make an impression, finishing third in the
Asian Championship, beating host nation Qatar 2-0,
the UAE 1-0 and China 3-0 on the way. Despite
failing to qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the
United States, Iranian football was still one of
the powers in Asia. In 1996 it collected another
third place in the Asian Championship. Iran
qualified for France after a dramatic 2-2 draw over
Australia in Melbourne. The Iranian were 2-0 down
with 20 minutes to go but fought back to equalize
and book their ticket for 1998 on away
goals. What we can say is that
Iran is the most fortunate nation to be present in
France next summer. Victory over Australia, if it
can be called that after two draws, was deserved
enough, given the weight of expectation against
them, but it was the manner of their qualification
that has left a slightly sour taste in the mouths
of those who see the finals as a celebration of the
best in world football. Finishing only second in
Asian qualifying group A, they then lost a play-off
against Japan for a place in the finals, only to be
handed their third opportunity to qualify - against
Australia - which they accepted. The nature of
their qualification mattered not one bit to the
Iranian supporters, however, who lined the streets
in their hundreds of thousands to welcome home the
victorious team from Melbourne. Much emphasis has
been placed in Iran on the World Cup campaign, to
the extent that Mayeli Kohan, the coach, was
dismissed even while his side were still
well-placed to qualify. He has been replaced by
Ivic, from Croatia after an extensive and tourtous
search. Update: If there
is a side that can be considered "Team Trauma",
this is it. Just a month before the Cup began, the
Iranian federation thought it was necessary to
change coaches, yet again. Tomislac Ivic? Gone
after not being able to win, but the official
stament was that "he didn't understand the Iranian
way of play." At least his wife will be happy. Ivic
said that we wasn't going to see her until after
the Cup was over. Uhmm..."Honey! I'm home!! Guess
what?..." Tomislav Ivic
and the Iranian Federation President...before the
deed was done. Wonder what he was looking up in the
ceiling for...the ax that was about to
fall? Trivia for the
Pub: The initials "I.R." over the Iran name on
the shirt mean "Islamic Republic". Home
shirt Away
Shirt Possible
Team: POSITION
NAME G Ahmadreza
Abedzadeh G Gholamreza Hajesbouei
G Nima Nakisa D Yahya Golmohammadi
D Mohammad
Khakpour D Ali Akbar Ostad
Asadi D Mehdi
Pashazadeh D Afshin
Peyravani M Karim Bagheri
M Hamid Estili M Mehdi
Mahdavikia M Farhad
Majidi M Mehrdad Minavand
M Naim Saadavi M Alireza Mansourian
M Reza
Shahroudi M Dariush Yazdani
F Alireza
Akbarpour F Khodadad Azizi
Forward Ali
Daei F Ali Asghar Modir-Rousta
F Ali Mousavi
F Ebrahim
Tahami ©CnnSi/AP We had a
picture of Vierra and we wanted to use it. Then he
gets fired. We finally get
a picture of Ivic. Then he gets fired. Here is Jalal
Talebi, he looks pensive. At least we got the pic
BEFORE he gets fired. |
vs.
YUGOSLAVIA
UNITED
STATES
GERMANY
©AFP
©AFP