Now, every and each thread needs to be colored by smelly stink of bloody fucking politic... OK!
Looks like chimansky is everywhere!
Associated Press In June 2006, Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, accepted a jersey from the national team stars Ali Daei, left, and Ali Karimi, second from left, before the team left for the World Cup in Germany. In 2009, Karimi was part of a protest against the re-election of Ahmadinejad.
SEOUL, South Korea — You do not have to be a cynic to wonder whether Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, heads to the soccer field when things are going badly in the political field. With the rial falling and tensions rising in Tehran, Ahmadinejad visited the national team as it prepared for a vital 2014 World Cup qualifier against South Korea on Oct. 16. Defeat would have put a place in Brazil in jeopardy, a serious situation in a soccer-loving nation like Iran.
The president’s message may have been to the team but it was surely meant for a wider audience. “It is my firm opinion that Iran belongs to the world-class elite as we have the talents and skills to be there,” he said on a sunny day in the capital. “If you believe in yourself and your ability, if you believe that your level and place is in the international arena at the highest level, than this will go a long way in achieving your desire and objectives. If you think that you are only good enough for Asia, then that is what you will be and will remain.”
Given soccer’s popularity in the country, the picking up of a scarf or donning of a shirt can be tempting for under-pressure politicians, but it can be risky. When the national team qualified for the 1998 World Cup, the first time since the Islamic revolution, thanks to a play-off triumph in Australia, the players’ homecoming was delayed in case celebrations on the street got out of hand.
In June 2009 in the final game of the final round of qualification in Seoul for the 2010 World Cup, 6 of the 11 who started wore green armbands. It was no coincidence that green was the color symbolizing the campaign of Mir Hossein Moussavi, the challenger in the presidential election that had been held the week before. As protests grew in Tehran over what some saw as a rigged victory for the incumbent, stars such as the captain Javad Nekounam and the Wizard of Tehran, Ali Karimi, were openly lending their support on the world stage. In the second half, the bands were gone but the statement had been made.
Ahmadinejad survived, but the team failed to qualify for the tournament in South Africa. The president may talk of self-belief taking Iran to the world elite, but in soccer, Iran has been clinging to its status as Asian powerhouse for the last few years. Rivals from the east — Japan and South Korea — reach the knockout stages of World Cups, battle for medals at the Olympics and send an increasing number of young players to the big European leagues. Iran, with three appearances on the global stage, has been falling behind.
To take the team to the 2014 World Cup, Iran’s federation — a body with close ties to the government (the majority of clubs in the Iranian league are owned directly or indirectly by the state; and Ahmadinejad, who likes to attend training sessions, has been known to involve himself in team affairs) — hired Carlos Queiroz.
The former coach of Real Madrid and Portugal (and a past adviser to the United States federation) did not come cheap, but was seen as having the know-how to take Iran to Brazil. As expected, the third round of qualification was navigated comfortably but the final stage is where the fun starts. Ten teams split into two groups of five fight to take one of the top two spots and automatic qualification.
An opening win in Uzbekistan was a great, if somewhat lucky, start. It was followed by a frustrating goalless tie at home to Qatar and then, much worse, a first defeat against Lebanon. It was even the first goal that Iran had conceded against the team.
The criticism from the Tehran sports news media, a bold beast when it comes to soccer, was aimed at the players, accusing them of complacency. The stars responded by issuing a collective statement insisting that they had done all they could to win.
Queiroz did nt escape either. He responded on Tehran television.
“The most important thing, we need to be united as we are in the middle of qualification because our goal is to qualify for the World Cup,” he said. “We have to fight against Qatar, Uzbekistan, South Korea — these are our opponents … we should not be fighting among ourselves, the players, president, the press, together we can achieve that goal. If we start to fight ourselves, this is nonsense.”
It is a message that Ahmadinejad would surely have approved of and it worked. The country seemed to be behind the team even well before kick-off. The South Koreans complained of not being issued visas until the last minute making preparations difficult, not being allowed to train on the same standard of fields as the host and staying in a noisy hotel. South Korea Coach Choi Kang-hee was only half-joking when he said that in the return match in June, the South Korean federation should make Iran train on the grass next to the Han River.
It was not a great game but the atmosphere was something special with 105,000 men in the stadium (women are still not allowed), all getting behind the men in red. And when Nekounam scored the only goal of the game with 15 minutes remaining, if the massive Azadi Stadium had a roof, it would have been blown off. The sound did not let up until the final whistle signaled a release of joy. The 2014 World Cup suddenly seems a lot closer.
It would perhaps be trite to say that the pain of sanctions was forgotten for a few hours but on that evening, the whole of Iran had a smile on its face. Surely, Ahmadinejad did, too.
John Duerden is the editor of Kick Off Asia.