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FIFAWORLDCUP - There is no doubt that Iran are
the underdogs ahead of the opening match of their third FIFA World Cup™
finals against Mexico on Sunday.
Confidence, however, has justifiably been drawn from a series of positive
performances and results in recent warms-up matches, most notably in a 5-2
win over Bosnia-Herzegovina and 2-2 draw with a team, in Croatia, who
claimed the bronze the last time the FIFA World Cup was held in Europe.
Even more encouraging, arguably, is that the timely return from injury of
midfield maestro Mehdi Mahdavikia along with fellow key players Ali Karimi
and Vahid Hashemian has provided Branko Ivankovic with a couple of pleasant
selection headaches ahead of facing a side ranked fourth in the world.
Iran's Croatian coach, for his part, made it clear in an exclusive interview
with FIFAworldcup.com that his side are targetting nothing less than a place
in the last 16.
Go to Iran team page FIFAworldcup.com: With Iran undefeated in all three
friendlies played this year, do you think you have prepared the team well
enough for the opening game against Mexico in Nurumberg?
Branko Ivankovic : Yes, everything is going in the right direction in our
camp. We played good warms-up games and I am especially satisfied that the
players did rather well against Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. We showed
our strength in the 2-2 draw against Croatia and should remember they are
strong European powers that reached the semi-finals in France 1998. Back in
Tehran four days later, we came from two goals down to defeat
Bosnia-Herzegovina 5-2. Although I wasn't happy that we conceded two quick
goals in the opening minutes, I was glad to see our young players put in
some brilliant performances and it was good for them to have more
international experience going into the World Cup.
Which young talents on the team have impressed you so far?
Andranik Teymourian, Mehrzad Madanchi and Masoud Shojaei all look good at
shoring up in midfield and Kaabi keeps up his good form in the back. Up
front, Arash Borhani shows huge predatory potential, while Rasoul Kahtibi
also has the capabilities to score good goals.
So could Borhani or Kahtibi may start in place of Ali Daei?
Ali Daei is the team’s captain and he should start, at least in the opening
game against Mexico. But it is hard to predict if we make any changes up
front in the next games against Portugal and Angola because no-one knows
what will happen to the team and players.
If Ali Daei does have any problems, who is your most favoured replacement
for him?
We do not have a shortage of options in the front line. Vahid Hashemian can
provide firepower, and Borhani and Kahhibi are also able to do the job well.
Ali Karimi, Mehdi Mahdavikia and Hashemian have all been struggling a
little with injuries and some of them didn’t play the recent friendlies.
Have they all fully recovered?
Hashemian has no problems and Mahdavikia has also been back in our training
recently. Karimi had a three-month lay-off this season due to injury, but he
played in the match against Croatia and scored one of our goals.
If we compare the warm-up matches Iran played to those Korea Republic,
Japan and Saudi Arabia took on, could it be said that the team arrives in
Germany without enough top-class international exposure?
We had some problems arranging more international friendlies and we could
only do that after our training camp started on 10 May. But the importance
is the quality, not the quantity, of matches. We played strong European
teams, the young players learnt a lot from their mistakes, and the good
performances and results are timely boost to the team’s morale. You can see
some other teams didn’t play too many friendlies either. Portugal played
two, while Brazil played only one.
Despite the good results, Iran conceded six goals in the their three most
meaningful friendlies against Costa Rica, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Is
the defence still the area in need of most improvement?
A good defence is crucially important for a team to win games. We have done
a lot in improving our defence and I can see the team are getting better in
this area.
This will be your second FIFA World Cup after you were coaching staff that
guided Croatia to third place in France 1998. And you are also the first
foreign coach to lead Iran in a FIFA World Cup finals. What goals have you
set for you and your team?
Our first goal was qualification for the FIFA World Cup, which we have
already achieved. Now we are aiming at progressing to the second round. The
opening match against Mexico is important, and although they are world-class
power, we have the chance to pull off some good results. Plus, you always
know in football that nothing is impossible.
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