Whatever happened to Edson Tavares? An Exclusive interview!

Footballmedia - It was only a couple of months ago that Foolad Sepahan’s Brazilian head coach Edson Tavares left the country without a trace. There were rumors in regards to his untimely departure and people wondered why he left and did not return. In order to find the truth behind his peculiar move and on behalf of footballmedia, I conducted and exclusive interview with Mr. Tavares few days ago. This is one of the most scandalous interviews that I have ever done. Let the readers be the adjudicators of that.


Nader,
Hello and thanks for accepting my request for an interview. Please give me a brief background on your coaching profession.

Tavares,
After playing for nearly 18 years, I finished my career as a football player in Fribourg Switzerland. The president of Fribourg at the time was very close to me and asked me to coach the team. I coached Fribourg from 1982 to 1983. It was a great experience and good start for me. Then I moved to Tunisia and coached the Sousse FC for a couple of years. We finished in a very good position there. Then I coached Jordanian national team for 3 years (1985 through 1987). In 1988 I coached the Chilean national team. Then I experience my first coaching occurrence with a Persian Gulf state when I coached Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in 1990-91 in which we won the Asian club championship by beating Esteghlal of Tehran 2-1!
In 1992 I signed with a Kuwaiti team and coached there for three years. In 1995 I coached the Vietnam national team. After a year in Vietnam I came back to Kuwait again and stayed there for 2 more years. In October of 1997 I signed a contract with Tampa Bay in MLS (USA), and shortly after I moved to China and coached there for six years (3 different clubs, two year each). In 2004 I came back to Vietnam. The Vietnamese team did real well and they just finished one point behind South Korea for prequalifying of Germany 2006.
And finally I moved to Iran and coached Foolad Sepahan for a season that resulted in a 5th position overall. So, my coaching career extended itself to 23 years.

Nader,
Very impressive Mr. Tavares.
Why did you leave Sepahan?

Tavares,
There were several reasons behind this move. First of all it was because of promises that they made to me in regards to my financial contract. The proposal that Sepahan management initially gave me, were far different than what they offered when I arrived in Iran. Economically speaking I lost so much, but I kept my word and stayed with the club.
Then I had to face the 2nd wave of tribulations in Sepahan. They promised me a full support and they held up claims that they had some of the best players gathered in Sepahan and championship was around the corner. It was only 4 months into my journey that I realized Sepahan players were not as good as the management claimed them to be, and I needed to promote the younger players in order to built up the team from the ground up!
The management did not agree with my decision and they wanted to continue with the players they had. In December I took a short break and went back to Brazil. I requested to be released from my contract due to uncooperativeness of the management and they refused. So, I came back and continued. Towards the end of the season however, I put my foot down and used “only” younger players and we ended up winning 8 games, drawing one and losing only a game!
This proved that I was right all along about turning this team around!

Nader,
Why were the people in charge so unsupportive?

Tavares,
They wanted to only use the famous players. Let me give you an example. Sepahan management wanted to sign with Armanac Petrosian. Mr. Petrosian received a huge paycheck and did not produce. We lost seven games that he was directly responsible for it. When you are a money player, you should produce!
That’s the rule all over the world. And we are talking about a big contract here.
So, every time I tried to change Armanac with Rasoul Omani who is one of the best goalkeepers in Iran, the management confronted me. I’ll give you another example. Mohsen Bengar who used to play for Shamooshak made a lot of mistakes. I tried to replace him with a younger and much better candidate who came from Sepahan’s “B” team and the management refused. His name was Mohammad Mansoori!
Mansoori is a great player and still they refused to replace Bengar.

Nader,
I am sorry for interrupting you, but the protest came only form the management or certain players complained as well?

Tavares,
Players were involved too. The ones who made big money were responsible as well. They did not want to lose their position to younger players.

Nader,
Did they pay you on time?

Tavares,
Never!
This is a big problem with Sepahan management. They never paid anyone on time. They still owe money to me and another Brazilian player named Rodrigo who had a good season with them. I do not think this is fair or legal!
Despite all this, I renewed my contract with Sepahan, but once I came back to Brazil, I realized that there are many negative points about Sepahan and the way they manage it. So, I decided not to go back!
It was a family decision that I made. Tell me why I should go back?
I had to constantly fight for what is right for this team and they did not pay my salary for 5-6 months!
And this sort of problem exists for most foreign coaches in Iran.

Nader,
How about Iran’s professional league in general? I like to have your thoughts on that.

Tavares,
The problem is that no one in Iranian football federation listens to suggestions.
I have tried numerous times to talk some sense into them. Your professional league is very young and you need direction in order to move it through the right channels. Few months before the world cup I warned people in charge that Iranian national team is going towards catastrophe. They did not have any plan, no organizational procedure or any correct method whatsoever. They wasted a lot of time and money for nothing.

Nader,
Please elaborate on the national team a bit further. What were the major shortcomings in your opinion?

Tavares,
If I have to pick only one topic as the “major” setback in the national team, I would pick “lack of organization”!
Branko invited all the coaches to Olympic Hotel before the world cup to ask for their opinion. He had only “ONE” plan on hand and it was completely wrong.

Nader,
Did you tell him that?

Tavares,
Yes I did. I was the only one who confronted him and the IFF representatives. I told them that they were wrong. Their planning was wrong. The only support that I received was through Dr. Zolfagharnasab. All the other coaches including Esteghlal’s, Esteghlal Ahvaz and Saba Battery criticized me.
I have coached 4 different national teams in the past and I am experienced enough to see what is right and what is wrong. I have never seen anything like this in my entire career!

Nader,
Please tell me about this “plan”. What was it that bothered you so much?

Tavares,
First of all they proposed to play a four-sided tourney in Tehran that included Togo, Costa Rica, Iran and another team. They wanted to bring all the legionnaires to play. This was about three months before the world cup. I suggested that they leave the foreign-based players alone and try to coordinate the players at hand. It was not professional nor did make that much of a difference to drag them all the way to Iran for games that are being played too far in advance.
The other problem was closing the league every other week. This was not professional at all. In order for a team to prepare for the world cup, you must close the league a couple of months in advance and work them out. World cup is a place of intense competition and one must have the best organization in order to succeed!
Than to make the matters worse, they took the team to Switzerland for preparation and gave the legionnaires 10 days off (Legionnaires were in Iran by that time). So they joined the team and their trainings after they came back from camp in Swiss!!
This was not legionnaires mistake rather than a blunder through IFF and their lack of preparation!
IFF management is “not” open to suggestions. They don’t care. They just want result and don’t understand that achieving good result is directly dependant on good planning. They rely on miracles too much!

Nader,
Back to Sepahan, how did they deal with your suggestions?

Tavares,
In Sepahan, I established a comprehensive plan. The diagram was written based on a three-year chart and it was 180 pages long. The arrangement was to have teams for under 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, and 21 competing under concentrated supervision. In 3 years we could have had at least three strong teams who could compete with the best.
Do you know what they did with it?
They throw it in the garbage!
Let me tell you. Iranian players are the most skillful players in Asia. This is what every coach says about Iranian players. I have been involved with Korean football, Japanese football, Chinese football, Saudi Arabian football and Kuwaiti football up close and personal, and they all agree that Iranian players are the most talented in this continent. I have been in Asia for 17 years and no one knows this better than I do.
Unless you give these players the professional environment to work with or your football will go nowhere!
Let me give you an example. Look at China today. They operate exactly like Iranians. And lack of organization doomed their football.
Basically talent alone does not get you anywhere.

Nader,
You know so much about football in Asia. Where do we stand as far as competing with some of the best in this continent?

Tavares,
It all comes down to how professional your league is and how good of an infrastructure you have. Most Arab countries are either on the same level as Iran or worst. But Saudis are at least 10 years ahead of Iran in this category. Their 5-time appearances in the world cup and their success on the club level are no accident. They have worked real hard to get ahead with the limited talent available to them.
Let’s not even compare the likes of Japan and South Korea to Iran. They are way ahead of you guys and you are not closing the gap either. Iran has the potential though. With the right attitude and flawless planning, you can get back to the top in no time!

Nader,
Mr. Tavares, I heard through the grape wines that an Iranian high-ranking diplomat in South America got himself involved in dealing players and making commissions!
Is that true?
Could you please confirm?

Tavares,
That is true. It was 4 or 5 months into my employment with Sepahan and one day I ask for my salary to be paid. They called me to the boardroom and advised me to talk to a gentleman who held office in South America in a capacity of a high-ranking diplomat! * (The author of the article reserves the right not to reveal his rank or the country of employment at this point).
I asked them why he wants to talk to me?
They said he was one of the people who recommended you to coach in Sepahan, and now you have to pay him a gift/commission!!
I was puzzled because I have never heard of this gentleman before.
But they insist that I have to pay a commission to this guy regardless!
Apparently this diplomat had also established connections with a league in Sao Paolo in Brazil and played a role of an agent exporting players to Iran frequently!
It is also interesting to mention that we are not talking about the Sao Paolo major league, rather a team that is consists of players who live in “provinces” of Sao Paolo!
Later on I did my homework and found out that he has sent a player to Sanat Naft, one to Bushehr and several other players to different teams. He made great amount money this way.

Nader,
I am simply shocked to hear you confirming this. Who was the person who said this to you in Iran?

Tavares,
It was Mr. Saket the General Manager of Sepahan!

Nader,
Did you finally pay him?

Tavares,
No I did not!
I just did not know who this guy was (at the time)!


Nader,
Is that diplomat still doing business with Iranian clubs?

Tavares,
I am assuming that he still does!
He may not be directly involved in every transaction, but he gets the commission for it!

Nader,
What are your plans for the future?

Tavares,
Right now I am planning to work in Brazil. Even though I believe that my time is not finished in Iran yet. And I hope one-day people remember me for what I tried to do and I wish Iranians and their football the best of luck in the future.

Nader,
Thank you so much for your time. It was very pleasant to hear such professional comments through a professional coach!