Views from inside Arena Fonte Nova

Khabalood

Elite Member
Sep 26, 2004
2,132
169
Toronto
#1
As promised here is an insider report of what happened in Salvador today before, during and after the Iran v. Bosni game.

First the pictures: http://imgur.com/a/Zgwze

So when I said I took pictures, what I probably should have said was I took a lot of pictures. Over 300 pictures actually capturing everything from pre-game warm ups to in stadium fights, to after match pictures.

Pre-game:

- It rains almost every day in Salvador on and off, still this morning it rained a lot. It was a very gloomy day as well

- There were a lot of Iranis out to support TM. We easily outnumbered the Bosni fans. At the beginning of the cup the Brazilian people were for Bosni, but that all changed when we put up a fight against their enemy Argentina. The Brazilians were majority for us, and many came out in Irani gear.

- Outside the stadium IR football ultras were chanting tm slogans and handing out bags with supporter gear. One scarf, two flags, two noisemakers, and a wrist band were in each bag. While I was there they two of the ultras got into a loud verbal argument, because one of them thought the other was giving out bags to non-Iroonis. Clearly the bags were only meant for Iroonis and not non-Irooni fans supporting TM. No other football federation did anything similar to this outside the stadium, which is ironic, because the team itself did not get much support from the federation, but the fans did in this regard.

- Inside the stadium before kick off TM actually does a professional warm up. A stark difference to the previous warm up I witnessed while Ali Daei was in charge which looked more like a warm up for a wrestling match than a football match.

- All the Irooni fans are in good spirits, no political talk whatsoever, everyone is supporting tm and Iran only.

First half:

- TM looks good with the first few possessions, before getting fouled in the box. From my seat it looked like a penalty, no surprise amongst the fans when it is not given. This seemed to turn momentum in the match and Bosni began taking control.

- Fans in the stadium are in good spirits and chanting. The same IR Ultras the guys wearing bright neon yellow from outside are leading chants for one large TM supporter section across from the section I am in to my left. If anyone has seen tm play in Iran you would know who I am talking about. Still even with motivation Irooni fans cannot keep up with the Bosni ultras above me in the third level to my right. Those Bosni ultras without any exaggeration were chanting almost the full 90 minutes, with the exception of a few times when Irooni fans were able to drown them out. Their numbers were few but they had a lot more heart than the Irooni fans unfortunately.

- TM seems kind of lethargic the whole game, when compared to Bosni. Bosni's passes are faster, they move more as a unit. TM do not support each other in attack. Their attack feels hap hazard like they are just trying things on the spur of the moment.

- Shojaei was very poor. His passes were off the mark and he gave up the ball too much. Heydari did far better when he came in at half time. You can see him warming up by himself at half time.

- Nekounam did not run very fast in this game at all. He is not the same player he once was.

- Dejagha was another player who gave up on plays, and would not run his heart out, unlike Gucci who clearly was running and trying his best.

- The ref really seemed to kill a lot of the momentum of the game for TM. He didn't call numerous fouls for TM, and even non-Irani supporters in the stadium agreed he was clearly for the Bosni team.

- After the first goal the Irooni fans were clearly dejected. The number of chants decreased slightly. Bosni ultras kept on going, non-stop.

- At half time the fans were still optimistic TM could turn it around in the second half. We were still in it, despite Bosni slightly dominating possession. Brazilians in the stadium would take pictures with Irooni fans. The atmosphere in the stadium was great. Not much interaction between the Bosni fans and Irooni fans though.

Second Half:

- TM is still getting dominated. Bosni is still attacking as a unit, and are clearly more decisive with the ability to finish their opportunities which leads to the second goal.

- The second goal really hurts supporters in the stadium. They chant far less after the second goal is scored. Even the IR ultras seem to have given up getting the chants started, and they are no longer standing in front leading chants. Credit goes to some Irooni women who much like myself, kept cheering no matter what. Bosni ultras to my upper right continue to chant unfortunately.

- A few fans in stadium have been hurling insults at TM since they started losing in both English and Farsi.

- Jalal Hosseini and Pouladi have been great for TM in this game. Hosseini has dominated the air and stopped many attacks. Pouladi really does deserve the recognition he is getting from FIFA. Watching him in the stadium you can see that he leaves everything on the field and hardly puts a wrong foot all match long. They were both very impressive.

- Teymourian ran his heart out as usual. A true midfield dogfighter he was constantly a thorn in the side of Bosni. His energy, strength and athleticism is unmatched in our squad. He also intelligently knew when to make a technical foul to stop an attack dead.

- Overall TM missed too many chances. We had too many offsides, and seemed kind of amatuerish in our finishing ability when compared too Bosni and this was one of the main reasons for the loss.

- Gucci's goal was well deserved. He is by far our best offensive threat, and does well in one on ones.

- Bosni seemed to try to crowd out Dejagha, as many defenders would converge on him when he had possession. This is one reason why he had a poor game along with the fact that he held the ball far too long.

- About 15 minutes from the end of the match a fight breaks out on the first level almost directly below me. It appears to be an Irooni supporters section, and I can only see Iroonis there. One Irooni in particular is very mad and yelling. It looks like a physical fight is almost going to take place, with people holding this guy back. The commotion persists for a few minutes, and Policia Militar come down and escort him out. Most likely two Irooni fans got into it. Very sad to see, because no other nation had such a problem at the other games I went to. This is visible in the pictures I took.

- The stadium was not sold out, and many Iroonis were switching seats at half time, classic Irani stuff, not following "rules as usual."

After the game:

- TM thank their fans by clapping for them. This is a nice gesture as all teams do not do this so visibly. It was obvious they were thanking the supporter sections in particular based on the direction of their clapping. Irooni politeness and diplomacy on display here.

- Haghighi is visibly distrought and sits at his goal post, not moving from his spot for a long time even as the rest of the team thank the fans. Another goaltender goes to console him, and the FIFA camera follows to capture the drama. He gets up and runs to thank the supporters as well.

- Inside the stadium and throughout all TM games there have been about 4 Brazilans who dress up as Arabs and dance around funny in stadium to get attention so they can get on tv. FIFA likes to show attractive women, and then men acting or wearing stupid things. These asses, knowing this and wanting to get on tv have followed TM around, and made a mockery of Iranis. Outside they are doing the same stupid stuff, saying Salaam and acting like we are Arabs. An old Irooni man calls them out on it, and they start swearing at each other. Policia Militar split them up before things can escalate. You can see the back of the old man at the end of my pictures. He was completely in the right to tell them off.

- I know a lot of the members here are not happy with the result, and I am not either. However, I am very proud of TM. I know they did their best, down to the last player. They really do care about, and respect the jersey they wear. They did their best, with what little support they receive compared to many of the other nations at the cup. We were very unlucky in this cup. Had we received the penalty against Argentina and against Bosni we could have been in the second round right now with two wins and one draw.

- When I first arrived in Brazil the local population did not know or support Iran. Today they all know who we are. They respect that our TM fights until the very end even if we are not the most talented squad. In short TM has gained the respect of the nation of Brazil I am sure. Walking in the streets the Brazilian people speak well of Iran, and of Iranians. So I will repeat again, TM has gained the respect of the Brazilian people, and I am sure gained respect throughout many other countries as well. We should all be proud of TM.
 
Aug 21, 2005
3,367
42
39
next door
#4
correct me if i am wrong, but this was the first time i saw tm players put their hands on each others shoulders during the national anthem. they seemed very unified in this case. most times some had their hand on the chest, others had their hand on their side. but this was the first time they looked very unified
 
Oct 1, 2004
8,122
205
#5
Thank you for the beautiful report.
Also very interesting note you made about the brazilians pretending to be Arabs. A reporter also mentioned the same guys would go around making explosion noises at random people. Assholes.
 

Khabalood

Elite Member
Sep 26, 2004
2,132
169
Toronto
#7
you snapped so many pictures I am starting to think you did not enjoy the game.
I shot them with my five year old blackberry on the fly, in split seconds. I was actually really surprise I didn't expect to take so many. I did enjoy the game.

Fatso your welcome !
 

Zob Ahan

Elite Member
Feb 4, 2005
17,476
2,231
#8
As promised here is an insider report of what happened in Salvador today before, during and after the Iran v. Bosni game.

First the pictures: http://imgur.com/a/Zgwze

So when I said I took pictures, what I probably should have said was I took a lot of pictures. Over 300 pictures actually capturing everything from pre-game warm ups to in stadium fights, to after match pictures.

Pre-game:

- It rains almost every day in Salvador on and off, still this morning it rained a lot. It was a very gloomy day as well

- There were a lot of Iranis out to support TM. We easily outnumbered the Bosni fans. At the beginning of the cup the Brazilian people were for Bosni, but that all changed when we put up a fight against their enemy Argentina. The Brazilians were majority for us, and many came out in Irani gear.

- Outside the stadium IR football ultras were chanting tm slogans and handing out bags with supporter gear. One scarf, two flags, two noisemakers, and a wrist band were in each bag. While I was there they two of the ultras got into a loud verbal argument, because one of them thought the other was giving out bags to non-Iroonis. Clearly the bags were only meant for Iroonis and not non-Irooni fans supporting TM. No other football federation did anything similar to this outside the stadium, which is ironic, because the team itself did not get much support from the federation, but the fans did in this regard.

- Inside the stadium before kick off TM actually does a professional warm up. A stark difference to the previous warm up I witnessed while Ali Daei was in charge which looked more like a warm up for a wrestling match than a football match.

- All the Irooni fans are in good spirits, no political talk whatsoever, everyone is supporting tm and Iran only.

First half:

- TM looks good with the first few possessions, before getting fouled in the box. From my seat it looked like a penalty, no surprise amongst the fans when it is not given. This seemed to turn momentum in the match and Bosni began taking control.

- Fans in the stadium are in good spirits and chanting. The same IR Ultras the guys wearing bright neon yellow from outside are leading chants for one large TM supporter section across from the section I am in to my left. If anyone has seen tm play in Iran you would know who I am talking about. Still even with motivation Irooni fans cannot keep up with the Bosni ultras above me in the third level to my right. Those Bosni ultras without any exaggeration were chanting almost the full 90 minutes, with the exception of a few times when Irooni fans were able to drown them out. Their numbers were few but they had a lot more heart than the Irooni fans unfortunately.

- TM seems kind of lethargic the whole game, when compared to Bosni. Bosni's passes are faster, they move more as a unit. TM do not support each other in attack. Their attack feels hap hazard like they are just trying things on the spur of the moment.

- Shojaei was very poor. His passes were off the mark and he gave up the ball too much. Heydari did far better when he came in at half time. You can see him warming up by himself at half time.

- Nekounam did not run very fast in this game at all. He is not the same player he once was.

- Dejagha was another player who gave up on plays, and would not run his heart out, unlike Gucci who clearly was running and trying his best.

- The ref really seemed to kill a lot of the momentum of the game for TM. He didn't call numerous fouls for TM, and even non-Irani supporters in the stadium agreed he was clearly for the Bosni team.

- After the first goal the Irooni fans were clearly dejected. The number of chants decreased slightly. Bosni ultras kept on going, non-stop.

- At half time the fans were still optimistic TM could turn it around in the second half. We were still in it, despite Bosni slightly dominating possession. Brazilians in the stadium would take pictures with Irooni fans. The atmosphere in the stadium was great. Not much interaction between the Bosni fans and Irooni fans though.

Second Half:

- TM is still getting dominated. Bosni is still attacking as a unit, and are clearly more decisive with the ability to finish their opportunities which leads to the second goal.

- The second goal really hurts supporters in the stadium. They chant far less after the second goal is scored. Even the IR ultras seem to have given up getting the chants started, and they are no longer standing in front leading chants. Credit goes to some Irooni women who much like myself, kept cheering no matter what. Bosni ultras to my upper right continue to chant unfortunately.

- A few fans in stadium have been hurling insults at TM since they started losing in both English and Farsi.

- Jalal Hosseini and Pouladi have been great for TM in this game. Hosseini has dominated the air and stopped many attacks. Pouladi really does deserve the recognition he is getting from FIFA. Watching him in the stadium you can see that he leaves everything on the field and hardly puts a wrong foot all match long. They were both very impressive.

- Teymourian ran his heart out as usual. A true midfield dogfighter he was constantly a thorn in the side of Bosni. His energy, strength and athleticism is unmatched in our squad. He also intelligently knew when to make a technical foul to stop an attack dead.

- Overall TM missed too many chances. We had too many offsides, and seemed kind of amatuerish in our finishing ability when compared too Bosni and this was one of the main reasons for the loss.

- Gucci's goal was well deserved. He is by far our best offensive threat, and does well in one on ones.

- Bosni seemed to try to crowd out Dejagha, as many defenders would converge on him when he had possession. This is one reason why he had a poor game along with the fact that he held the ball far too long.

- About 15 minutes from the end of the match a fight breaks out on the first level almost directly below me. It appears to be an Irooni supporters section, and I can only see Iroonis there. One Irooni in particular is very mad and yelling. It looks like a physical fight is almost going to take place, with people holding this guy back. The commotion persists for a few minutes, and Policia Militar come down and escort him out. Most likely two Irooni fans got into it. Very sad to see, because no other nation had such a problem at the other games I went to. This is visible in the pictures I took.

- The stadium was not sold out, and many Iroonis were switching seats at half time, classic Irani stuff, not following "rules as usual."

After the game:

- TM thank their fans by clapping for them. This is a nice gesture as all teams do not do this so visibly. It was obvious they were thanking the supporter sections in particular based on the direction of their clapping. Irooni politeness and diplomacy on display here.

- Haghighi is visibly distrought and sits at his goal post, not moving from his spot for a long time even as the rest of the team thank the fans. Another goaltender goes to console him, and the FIFA camera follows to capture the drama. He gets up and runs to thank the supporters as well.

- Inside the stadium and throughout all TM games there have been about 4 Brazilans who dress up as Arabs and dance around funny in stadium to get attention so they can get on tv. FIFA likes to show attractive women, and then men acting or wearing stupid things. These asses, knowing this and wanting to get on tv have followed TM around, and made a mockery of Iranis. Outside they are doing the same stupid stuff, saying Salaam and acting like we are Arabs. An old Irooni man calls them out on it, and they start swearing at each other. Policia Militar split them up before things can escalate. You can see the back of the old man at the end of my pictures. He was completely in the right to tell them off.

- I know a lot of the members here are not happy with the result, and I am not either. However, I am very proud of TM. I know they did their best, down to the last player. They really do care about, and respect the jersey they wear. They did their best, with what little support they receive compared to many of the other nations at the cup. We were very unlucky in this cup. Had we received the penalty against Argentina and against Bosni we could have been in the second round right now with two wins and one draw.

- When I first arrived in Brazil the local population did not know or support Iran. Today they all know who we are. They respect that our TM fights until the very end even if we are not the most talented squad. In short TM has gained the respect of the nation of Brazil I am sure. Walking in the streets the Brazilian people speak well of Iran, and of Iranians. So I will repeat again, TM has gained the respect of the Brazilian people, and I am sure gained respect throughout many other countries as well. We should all be proud of TM.



Thanks for the report. That GK was Rahman Ahmadi.


 
Jun 26, 2014
134
0
#9
Thanks for this great report. I was offered tickets to go to Brazil actually, gave them over to my cousin instead. Will ask him about it all when he returns. I didn't want to go simply because I knew somehow I would be disappointed and somehow wouldn't be able to enjoy the trip. Whenever I watch Iran games, my heart gets heavy and I have a hard time really enjoying myself. LOL.

As for those fools behaving like Arabs. I get the feeling this was something concocted by the Brazilian media and `you know who` behind the scenes that controls it. They will not allow Iran to have one moment of glory. Bastards.
 
Nov 29, 2002
8,096
862
#10
they were Brazilians, always drunk. I saw them at all games. they said random things like allaho akbar and put prayer Mats in random directions. they kept attracting media attention