- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Iran's Masoud Shojaei, left, is challenged by Saudi Arabia's Mohammad Al Nakhli during their World Cup Asia group 2 qualifying soccer match at Azadi stadium, Tehran on Saturday March 28, 2009. AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian
In recent months, I’ve been introducing on The Roar and The World Game the story of Afshin Ghotbi, the Iranian-American former coach of Persepolis and former World Cup assistant coach to Guus Hiddink, Steve Sampson and Pim Verbeek.
Ghotbi was a shoo-in for the Iran national men’s team coaching position vacated by Ali Daei but had the rug pulled out from under him – again, the second time in as many years – by the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation (IRIFF) for Saipa Battery manager Mayeli Kohan, despite being announced in the position a number of times on the preceding weekend in the Iranian media.
Kohan had negligible public support (three per cent in some polls against Ghotbi) and an average coaching record, but what he did have in his favour was the right connections – and connections count for everything in football, especially Iranian football, where the separation of powers between federation and state are non-existent.
FIFA, as well all know, has had a long and protracted tussle with the IRIFF over political interference in football.
Ghotbi, for his part, has been meeting agents in northern Europe and Scandinavia with a view to get a club gig there. He has also offered to help Kohan pro bono, especially with his intimate knowledge of Korean football (two of Iran’s next three opponents are North Korea and Korea Republic, games they must get a result in to have any hope of qualifying for South Africa 2010). There’s been no word yet if Kohan has taken him up on his generous offer – but don’t hold your breath.
Interestingly, some parts of the Iranian media have linked Ghotbi with a move to rejoin Hiddink, this time at Chelsea. But that seems fanciful given Hiddink himself has given no guarantees he will be staying at Stamford Bridge, despite the pleas of captain John Terry for him to stay on once the Premiership and European campaigns for this season are over.
But if he doesn’t go to Chelsea, he might just end up with Hiddink in Russia and go to the World Cup after all, where the old trio of Verbeek, Ghotbi and Hiddink (South Korea’s brains trust at Korea-Japan 2002) will be reunited.
Stranger things have happened. Don’t rule it out.
Again, and I wrote this for The Roar a couple of weeks back, it just underlines what a lost opportunity it was when we had Ghotbi in the country and he made all the right noises about wanting to work in the A-League but his overtures fell on deaf ears – apart from the ambitious and forward-thinking Tasmania United.
We live and learn.
As for Iran, which also spurned a golden opportunity to snaffle folk hero Ghotbi, it has its work cut out for it. It must get six of a possible nine points from its remaining Group B qualifiers and the trips to North and South Korea are away games. A tough ask.
No one in Iran is confident. The prevailing view of the fans and the independent football media is the IRIFF has blown it even before a ball has been kicked.
It’s not hard to disagree.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.